Shatter With the Rain
by Chaser Of The Moon
Summary: When superstar baseball player Sasuke Uchiha falls in love, his life on and off the field start to unravel as lies, scandals, old enemies, and heartbreak threaten to steal away the career he desperately wants and the love he desperately needs.
1. The View From Home Plate

**Disclaimer Valid Until End of Story: **Naruto and Co. are owned by Masashi Kishimoto. No copyright infringement intended.

**Author's Note**: Wassup and welcome to my new story. Please note that this story is baseball centered and I'll be using technical phrases for plays and stuff of that flavor. You don't need to be a baseball FANATIC but you need to know more than a guy with a bat hits a ball and then runs around four bases before coming home. If you need any real help with anything that sounds unfamiliar feel free to ask and I'll explain it **here** because someone else might have the same question as you and I can answer it clearly. I'm not 100 percent an expert on baseball so if I write something that sounds impossible in a real game just ignore it for the sake of the story and my sanity. For instance, a typical baseball team has nine players on the field and twenty five people on their roster because I want to keep the attention on just ten people, the Konoha Phoenixs, Sasuke's team, has ten people on the roster. In the sporting world of this fanfic, all teams just have ten players.

During baseball game scenes, the players will be referred to by the number on their jerseys because that is how the main character sees them on the field, as numbers not individual people. He even sees _himself_ as a number. There won't be a lot of baseball scenes but since the sport plays a crucial role in the life of the main character I'll keep it in the background, noticeable but hopefully not overbearing. You don't have to be a baseball fan to enjoy this story because the underlying themes are about romance and life changing friendships.

This story was inspired, and not based off of in anyway, the Japanese drama **Pride **starring Kimura Takuya (really great, one of the best if not THE best Japanese drama) except in this story, the sport is baseball and not hockey.

And here, so if you won't get confused, a list of baseball players and their numbers.

**:Konoha Phoenixs:**

Hyuuga Neji - Number 20 - First Base

Sabaku Gaara - Number 9 - Second Base

Inuzuka Kiba - Number 33 - Shortstop (player between second and third base, usually in a sprinting position to cover both bases)

Nara Shikamaru - Number 57 - Third Base

Akimichi Chouji - Number 41 - Bat Catcher

Hatake Kakashi - Number 3 - Pitcher

Umino Iruka - Number 16 - Pitcher

Sarutobi Asuma - Number 37 - Left Field

Uchiha Sasuke - Number 13 - Center Field

Uzumaki Naruto - Number 27 - Right Field

Tsunade, Ebisu - Batting and Pitching Coach

Jiraiya - Manager

Elder Sarutobi - Owner

Pairings: (Cuz I know _someone _is going to ask) SASUKExSAKURA (primarily) , NEJIxTENTEN, SHIKAMARUxINO (a smidge), ASUMAxKURENAI, NARUTOxHINATA (a smidge), JIRAIYAxTSUNADE (mentioned A L O T) and others that I will mention if I get around to them.

Enjoy and please review. I now present...

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Shatter With the Rain

_Chapter One**:** _The View from Home Plate

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The roar of the fans that filled the stadium was deafening. Any sane person would wonder how a player could concentrate with all the noise but he was at his calmest when he was on the field. There was something tranquil about being stoic and surrounded by people constantly losing control. It was like he was in the eye of a raging hurricane. There was pure chaos outside the field and he could see it all happening but he could never be affected by it.

He was untouchable.

His fans helped him feel so untouchable. The more they shouted his last name and the number at the back of his jersey, the calmer he became. During at home games, games at which they played at their home stadium, he was the calmest but when they played on foreign fields, his facade cracked a little. If there was no one there to call his name or shout their devotion, he became slightly nervous. He never voiced his nerves or made it outwardly known that he was on the verge of dropping his precious bat but somehow his team mates always knew. His demeanor changed. There were only subtle differences that any person besides those that knew him on the field would over look but they were there. His eyes got harder, his mouth got tighter, he held his bat tightly instead of loose yet firm like he should and he refused to speak to anyone about anything. Not that he spoke while he was on the field anyway.

He was quiet, reserved more than usual, and fixed his gaze on something far away, like an improbable baseball that had jumped the fence and won the game for the other team. But he was always observing everything that was happening on the field. His eyes were always moving, taking in everything and observing the scene like a super computer.

His team mates were already on the field, running around and hyping the crowd up for the game. Their uniform blended in with the nicely color coded advertisements that lined the field. Their team uniforms shirts were all black except for the orange, red and yellow stripes running up and down vertically. In the middle of the shirts was the word _Phoenixs _in cursive since they were home. If they were at an away game, game at a foreign stadium, their uniform would be white with instead of black with _Konoha Phoenixs _on the front. On the back of their shirts were their last names in white surrounded by a red outline and their team numbers outlines twice, once in orange and once in yellow. Their team logo, which was the head and neck of a black Phoenix with a thick red outline with the words _Konoha Phoenixs_ in yellow above and below the mythical bird, was on their right sleeves. The pants the team wore were a classic black color and light enough to let air in and not overheat the player. At away games, the pants were white and dirtied very easily with brown sand spots.

The player took a deep breath and released it in a sigh while looking intensely at his team mates. As the unofficial star player, he was always last onto the field but he didn't mind much. It made no difference whether he was first or last, as long as he got to play he had no problem with the order. The LED scoreboard, supplied by the team's high income, flashed his baseball stats with his picture and he readied himself to play. That was when the fangirls started to scream their love.

_"We love you Sasuke!" _

_"You're so hot!" _

_"Marry me!" _

He almost gagged.

"And now ladies and gentlemen," the announcer said and the players on the team fell into their positions, waiting for him. The fans closest to the dug out, the area where the players go whenever they are not needed on the field, the area were the coaches and manager reside, screamed against in anticipation to what the man with the mic was about to say. "The highest paid baseball player in history, the pride of the Konoha Phoenixs, the man with a plan to end it all: Number 13, Sasuke Uchiha." He extended the last syllable of the player's name for an added affect although he didn't need to. Fans, raging from nine to ninety years old, screamed and wailed as soon as his name was mentioned and who was he to deny them what they wanted?

He stepped out onto the field and he could feel all eyes on him. Fans all over the stadium, presumably girl fans, held out large, crudely drawn posters with his name surrounded by hearts and small inspirational phrases on them.

_You can do it! _

_Uchiha is #1! _

_Go, Sasuke, go!_

Fans in the upper rows held out cards that when held together spelled out _Sexy Sasuke _while others swooned and tried to throw their belongings at him. He had seen them all, nothing surprised him when it came to his fans. He knew he depended on them, they were one of the few things he could say, but he never did, that he couldn't live without but sometimes they were a little disturbing, even for his standards.

"Beware, beware, beware," the man over the loud speaker continued, his voice hush and mock whispering, "Those that cross Sasuke Uchiha will receive the Uchiha Glare."

He didn't have an action that made him stand out. He didn't have a fist pump into the audience like Number 33 or even a catch phrase that sounded like gibberish like Number 27. All he had was his glare. If the glare was suppose to be so threatening, the announcer person was always warning people about it at home games, why did it make so many women melt in front of him? Why did it cause his opponents to smirk to themselves and send secret hand signs to each other. For one thing, his glare was the declaration of complete and utter annihilation. From it the other team knew they were about to be taken for a ride. They knew it was coming but they never really knew what he had up his sleeve. He did have one of the best batting averages but his throwing wasn't bad either. Of course, after the glare was thrown, other pitchers usually walked him, intentionally giving him four balls so he could advance to first base and not hit the ball or bank in a home run. In his opinion, getting walked was one of the worst things about being a star hitter.

"Get out there Uchiha," he heard his coach say. He turned and caught Coach's eyes, nodding once. The older man clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth twice and knodded toward the field. Two clicks meant 'look alive', one click meant 'get in there superstar and show 'em what you got.' Words weren't need once the game started, secrets signals, hand or otherwise, were always being thrown to another player.

Their opponents that day were the Sorakara Dragons from Sky City. The team was fairly new to the major leagues but somehow, by some miracle, they made it all the way to the big boys. The Phoenixs were always given briefings about the teams that they were going to be facing, although the team was unusually strong for new comers, Number 13 wasn't impressed.

Their starting pitcher was legally blind in his left eye and that should have messed them up in the beginning but somehow it made them stronger. It gave them a reason to play harder than anyone else because they had to cover their only true weakness. Not that the pitcher didn't do a fine job of that himself. His left ear was extremely sensitive so he knew everything that was going on even if he couldn't see it.

Number 13 could handle any pitcher, whether he threw fire or lightening or whatever. Every pitcher cracked under pressure eventually and he enjoyed watching them crack in front of him.

He jogged onto the field to join his team mates, catching a ball from Number 27 when he got close enough to him. The blonde, who almost always had a smile on his face, grinned at him before catching the ball back and passing it to Number 33. He couldn't believe the way the two acted sometimes. It was safe to say that they were treated like rock stars whenever they went out but he had never seen two people enjoy the perks of living the high life as much as them. They took advantage of all the fan autographs, fan photos and all the free things they received from their fame. But they were talented on the field, that fact couldn't be denied.

Number 13 lowered his cap, black with the red letters **K** and **P** overlapping each other and looked toward the fans for the final time. His eyes somehow flew to the dug out where the manager, the batting coach and the pitching coach were watching eagerly. A lot more than bragging rights were riding on that game, that much he could tell by the way the coaches were whispering to each other.

Konoha's pitcher, Number 3, was lazily walking toward the mound. He looked odd since his trademark spiked up ivory hair was hidden within his baseball cap. A few strands were flattened against his forehead. Number 3 yawned into his glove and angled his head to look back at Number 13 with a glint in his dark eyes. Number 3 was a senior member on their team alongside the owner's son, Number 37, and their other pitcher, Number 16. Together they were the oldest people on the team besides the coaches and managers but they never acted as if they were. Number 3, although he almost always looked disinterested, was a genius when it came to turning the game around. He used to be the highest paid player until Number 13 was signed to the Phoenixs but he never held any grudges toward the rising star player. Number 3 was the team captain and vouched for his team members whenever any of them acted stupid and was summoned before the owner of the team. Whether he truly liked them or not, no one would ever know since he kept his emotions hidden but his techniques for teaching and helping others made him liked throughout the entire Phoenix franchise.

The pitcher gave him a lazy nod that meant 'don't mess up kid' and turned to wait patiently for the Dragons. The Phoenixs could handle the Dragons, no problem. They had the highest paid players, legendary coaches, and a nice season to prove it. It looked nice on paper but it was even nicer because the Phoenixs _always _delivered.

Always.

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The dim light that lit the sports bar reflected itself off of his drinking glass. He sat in the VIP section of a high class sports bar in down town Konoha. To his left were regular customers who came to the bar to watch pre-recorded games on huge plasma screen televisions attached to the walls. The were normal city people and ever so often their eyes found the VIP section at the top of stairs that over looked the lower bar and sat the star team. Two tall, muscular men in suits stood guard at the foot of the stairs wearing dark colored shades so no one could tell where they were looking. They were on first named basis with a few team members and were paid by the owner to stay at the bar until it closed in early morning.

Sasuke's eyes looked up to his drunken team mates who were now merrily singing a happy karaoke tune. They had beat the Dragons 3 to 2 in extra innings, innings that were added to prolong game when the score was tied, and it felt good to watch the juniors mope and sulk after their almost perfect record. Sasuke wasn't a veteran to the league yet but he had been around longer than those babies. Sky City hadn't even boasted a baseball team until two years ago so all their players weren't that experienced yet. Their oldest player was probably twenty eight years of age. Naruto had said later in the locker room that killing the spirit of those toddlers in uniform felt bad and 'so incredibly nuclear' at the same time.

Whatever that meant.

Currently, Naruto was trying to see if he could drink his weight in watered down beer. He wasn't allowed to drink regular beer because his body had a very low tolerance for alcohol and the smallest drop of concentrated 50 Proof alcohol could smash him. The people with the highest alcohol tolerance on the team that could drink regularly but never lost their cool were Sasuke, second baseman Gaara who was recently signed from the Suna Coyotes, third baseman Shikamaru Nara and bat catcher Chouji Akimichi. Their other pitcher besides Kakashi named Iruka was such a good boy that he didn't drink at all. Ever.

Sasuke himself didn't drink during baseball season because of the after affect it had on his game so he just stuck to drinking water. Some other players shared his ideals but most of them drank until they were piss drunk, moaned about it the next day and then locked themselves in the gym to work off the alcohol. They were drunken idiots that sang about beer and women when they could have been training.

But not all of the team was there at Into the Fire, the sports bar that the Konoha team regularly visited. Asuma, left fielder and son of the owner of the team, was at home with his wife who was pregnant with their second child. He had never introduced her to the team but from all of the stories he told his woman had a hold on him that nothing could break. Asuma said that his wife was at all the home games they played and Naruto and Kiba looked for her constantly but they could never find her. She was real but by all the facts only Kakashi knew her personally.

Gaara, another non-drinker, disliked going out in public if it didn't have to do with the team and for that he was the most distant team mate. He was never in the photos the paparazzi caught of the team during the wee hours of the morning and that might have benefited him. Child hood friends Shikamaru and Chouji were dining with another child hood friend that they hadn't seen in a while or so they had told the team. They weren't drinkers so they didn't have to explain why they weren't at the bar.

Sasuke wasn't either but he had no where to be besides at Into the Fire. He wasn't lonely but appreciated being entertained by the drunken antics of his team mates. And the batting coach for the team, Ebisu, told him not to stress his shoulder too much. Somehow, at some strange point in the game, he had pulled a muscle and his shoulder was aching a little. But he had played with worst before so it didn't bother him.

Once, when he was on his older team, the Oto Cobras, he had played with a broken rib acquired from when the opposing team's third baseman fell on him with his elbow after Sasuke had slid too close to the man. His face had betrayed his injured state and he had stood up and shook himself off as if it didn't hurt to breathe and continued playing. But that game changed his life. A representative of the Konoha Phoenixs had been in the audience and that was the game he was offered a few hundred millions for a ten year contract with the Konoha based team.

He rolled his shoulder forward and back and sighed in contentment because the pain he had felt earlier had disappeared a little. Ebisu was a magician when it came to quick medicines for injuries. He wanted it healed as soon as possible. If the press and sports commentators knew that he was injured, they would just talk and talk about whether or not he was going to be on the disabled list. He didn't need that. Ebisu had recommended him to a private spa and rehabilitation center near the stadium for a few sessions of cold compression therapy so that swelling would reduce although there wasn't much to begin with.

"Hey," someone drunkenly tapped him on his injured shoulder causing him to hiss and nearly cuss out loud when the person grabbed onto him to keep from falling down, "Hey, hey, hey, hey." Naruto was an idiot sometimes and Sasuke pulled him away from injury and rolled it again, laying a hand on his shoulder. "Hey Sasuke," Naruto burped and Sasuke tried to glare at him without turning around to face the man.

It wasn't working.

"Sasuke."

"What?" he said through clenched teeth, forcing himself to act civil. It would not benefit the team if he were to punch Naruto in the face. Sasuke used his own version of the 'What would Jesus do?' question entitled 'What was better for the team?' He restrained himself from hurting anyone in the team because it would not benefit them as a whole. He couldn't be selfish.

"You wanna go visit the ladies?"

Hardly.

The 'ladies' Naruto was talking about were the exotic dancers at the club down the street. Sasuke preferred to call them what they were: whores. But apparently they didn't like that word very much.

"Did you just say ladies?" asked Kakashi, swaying from side to side and finally slouching against the bar. Kakashi. Smooth, agile, intelligent Kakashi was just as piss drunk as Naruto was. But the only difference was that Kakashi was never _ever _hung over. He just needed to sleep off his buzz and he awoke as if he had just slept soundly the entire night. He had a very good alcohol filtering system that enabled him to recover easily and always perform at his best after hard drinking. "Gimme another," the white haired pitcher signaled to the bar tender who looked at him for a straight minute before complying uneagerly.

"Yesh," Naruto turned to him, patting him on the shoulder, "I asked Sasuke if he wanted to go see Erik-...uhh...Erikara...Ereecka...Era...era..." He kept on repeating Era in soft tones until his quit completely and fixed on a point on the bar.

Sasuke stared at him, unimpressed and annoyed, before saying, "Erica, her name is Erica."

She was the preferred exotic dancer for the team. She was the standard classification of beauty, in the doll world anyway. She was of medium height with bleach blonde hair that reached to her waist, tan skin that resembled caramel and a body that could rival that of a swim suit/porn model. Sasuke wasn't even going to lie, she was alright looking it was good to have someone to fool around with. No strings attached.

She did have a thing for millionaires and baseball playing millionaires. She had bragged before that she had slept with both of Oto's heavy hitters: Kimimaru and Jugo. They were both equally fucked in the head in Sasuke's opinion.

"So yeahh," Naruto slurred, leaning heavily on Sasuke's uninjured shoulder which caused the dark haired man to relax considerably. He still shook Naruto off his body though, he didn't like to be touched so casually. "You wanna go visit Erica? Tonight's the victory night special, two for the price of one."

Simply atrocious.

Any other day Sasuke would have said no. He didn't care for whores but it had been so long since he had last fucked someone. His last girlfriend was from Oto and they had broken up three years before. They had tried to keep in touch after he had moved to Konoha but it didn't work out and for that Sasuke was a bit thankful. She was also fucked in the head. But the break up wasn't entirely her fault. Sasuke had a very short attention span when it came to women and their womanly interests. He was glad baseball was a male only sport so he could easily concentrate and not worry about the smallest action he did.

So he made up his mind. "Whatever," Sasuke drowned the water in his stout glass, "Let's go."

Naruto blinked and shook his head, looking at him with disbelieving eyes. "Are you sure? Cuz you know we got a game in two days agains-."

"Hurry up before I change my mind," he stood up and looked over to Kakashi who was practically asleep. "Team Captain," Sasuke said, hitting the man with the back of his hand.

Kakashi jumped up and burped, muttering, "Mmm pass the stripper, hold the onions," before falling back down onto the bar with a loud thump.

"Yeahh," Naruto said slowly, laughing good naturally, "He's dead on his feet alright. Yo Kiba!"

He called over to the shortstop sitting on one of the soft booths of the VIP section who was not alone. Two voluptuous women with long hair that touched him all over sat on his lap, one on each leg. "Kinda busy here," he winked, smirking so widely one of his canines were visible, "Go talk to Icebox over there."

At the other end of the table in the booth, Number 20 first baseman Neji Hyuuga looked up from his drink, and book, with a frown and took off his glasses. "Who are you referring to, Inuzuka?" Naruto had once told Sasuke that he and the 'Icebox' had similar personalities but he didn't see it. The Hyuuga was serious and expressionless all the time while Sasuke knew that he at least showed anger and he smiled...barely but he knew he did smile. In the few short years that he had known the Hyuuga he had never full out laughed or enjoyed anything remotely humorous. He was an icebox after all.

"Ahhh," Kiba smiled at him, "Give it a rest, Icy, Naruto wants to ask you something."

"You wanna come with the Blue Lagoon with us?"

At the mention of the club, horror filled Neji's face. "No, I will not be tarnished by such filth. Who knows what kind of diseases those women have." No one knew why he talked as if he lived in a different century and, frankly, no one questioned it. He was a good player, a menace on the field, and he was respected for that and partly by his old fashioned words. He did have a way of making people feel stupid when he spoke to them, the same way Sasuke had the power to make a person's self esteem drop each time they talked to him with his harsh stare. Their ability to take people down a notch was probably the only thing they had in common.

"Yeah sure whatever," Naruto rolled his eyes, "Are you sure you don't wanna come? Sasuke's coming."

Sasuke could never understand why they always used him to get someone someplace. It didn't work on Neji though, he just looked at Sasuke with disgust in his clear eyes. "That speaks for itself doesn't it."

He didn't like that tone. "If you're trying to say something, say it," Sasuke urged, walking closer to Neji.

"No words are needed," the other man said, putting on his pair of reading glasses.

Sasuke didn't feel like fighting but he was a guy and the whole team was full of men except for the pitching coach but she wasn't there at the moment. The abundance of testosterone caused for a few spare arguments here and there. Humans were still animals and animals thrived on having others surrender to them, even if they were an advance species. _What was better for the team? _He couldn't fight Neji, he wouldn't fight Neji. It wasn't right and it would put a strain on the team. They didn't need that.

"If you say so, let's go Naruto," Sasuke said dismissively, walking away from the team's area and down the stairs with Naruto close behind. He paused at the two body guards who both knodded at them and exits through the team-only door.

He stepped out into the night air and dug his hands into the pockets of his pants. His team mate followed closely behind and was uncharacteristically quiet as they walked down the long city block.

"Hey Sasuke," he heard Naruto say softly. Sasuke glanced at him and saw that his eyes were downcast, his beer high was spiraling him head down into a tiring crash.

"What?"

"Do you...do you think we'll always be at the top? I mean, no team is perfect or continually perfect but...do you think that, for at least this year, we will be?"

He hated this side of Naruto. The soft, hippy-dippy, scardy cat side Naruto only showed after experiencing something 'nuclear.' He knew, personally, that what went up came down twice as hard. It was the law of gravity after all.

"No you idiot," Sasuke told him, walking back and hitting him, not so gently, on the head. "No team in this league has ever had a perfect season, the Phoenixs are no different just because we haven't lost yet." Naruto dropped his eyes to the ground and sighed heavily.

Sasuke watched him with growing impatience. He was never good at cheering people up and he could never figure out what to say. The least he could do was supply Naruto with the cold, hard facts and let him think what he wanted to think. If it helped him feel better, fine. If it didn't and made him feel worst, fine. He was the cause of his own sadness then.

"Just don't doubt what we can do," he said slowly walking again, "Our job is about winning and thinking we can win helps us do it." If the other man followed or not was not any of his concern, but he hoped he helped a little. Just a little.

Everything was so complicated to him off the field, everyone had names and emotions and thoughts that he couldn't control. In real life, everyone wasn't divided into friend or foe, them or us, win or lose: everything had an in between.

"Why are you just standing there, Mr. Millionaire?" he heard a voice ask. Naruto smiled at him from his position in front of the Blue Lagoon's door which was covered in neon lights and silhouettes of top heavy and slender women.

"No reason," he said walking up and pushing through the door, "Get in."

Sometimes, he wished that he could live his life on the baseball diamond and never step off of it. Everything was so much easier with his jersey on, blind to the world and seeing what he thought mattered: numbers and only numbers.

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Please review and let me know what you think about my new story. Stick around...this story is gonna get good.


	2. Burning Feathers

**Disclaimer Valid Until End of Story: **Naruto and Co. are owned by Masashi Kishimoto. No copyright infringement intended.

**Author's Note**: Thanks to everyone who reviewed (YOU GUYS ROCK!!) and/or has taken an interest in this story. I've never been as dedicated about an idea as I have about this one, finally, and I hope you all enjoy the rest of my story.

Most of the teams I mention in the story are made up. The Uta (pronounced OO-tah not Utah) Greenbacks and Sorakara (Sky City, Sora means 'sky', I have no idea what 'kara' means though) Dragons of the previous chapter are of my creation but the Oto Cobras, Kiri Swordsmen, Akatsuki Suns and Suna Coyotes will have recognizable characters that are not mine. Other things I mention, like recognizable cars and other things like that, are also not mine.

Another thing is...Konoha, Oto, Kiri, Suna and any other teams I'll be mentioning are from states. (Uta and Sky City are an exception, they are island cities) But Konoha, Oto, Kiri and Suna have cities that share the same name as them. They are the only ones. Other teams I mention while have specific cities in the rest of the real Naruto countries that are left.

Interesting note: If you ever wanted to see what Sasuke would (sort of) look like if he wasn't a two dimensional drawing check out the trailers for **Final Fantasy Versus XIII**. I know the main character is not Sasuke but just looking at him made me think of a certain 'last' Uchiha. And the blue hair, even the hairstyle, red eyes, the whole 'last of his kind' and the air of revenge thing kinda sealed the deal for me. He's like...if Cloud and Sasuke were to have a baby, (which would be a very hot baby btw) that's what the main character would be.

Here's the list again, I think I'm going to keep this in every chapter that there's a baseball scene is for easy access. I can imagine it might get a little confusing with all the Number –'s. So, here is the team we all know and love the…

**:Konoha Phoenixs:**

Hyuuga Neji - Number 20 - First Base

Sabaku Gaara - Number 9 - Second Base

Inuzuka Kiba - Number 33 - Shortstop (player between second and third base, usually in a sprinting position to cover both bases)

Nara Shikamaru - Number 57 - Third Base

Akimichi Chouji - Number 41 - Bat Catcher

Hatake Kakashi - Number 3 - Pitcher

Umino Iruka - Number 16 - Pitcher

Sarutobi Asuma - Number 37 - Left Field

Uchiha Sasuke - Number 13 - Center Field

Uzumaki Naruto - Number 27 - Right Field

Tsunade, Ebisu - Batting and Pitching Coach

Jiraiya - Manager

Elder Sarutobi - Owner

Now, with no interruptions, please enjoy and review.

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Shatter With the Rain

_Chapter Two**:** _Burning Feathers

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A month and six sessions of cold compression therapy later...

He held the bat tightly in his grasp, his hard hat lowered to his dark eyes. The bat was over his left shoulder as he stood to the right of home plate, waiting for the pitcher to make his throw. The stadium was buzzing with excess energy and he could hear his name being called from all directions. He was untouchable again, the player Konoha loved and probably also loved to hate.

Not that he minded. The pitcher, from what he could observe, was an ass. They were playing the Uta Greenbacks and they seemed to have a grudge against the Phoenixs. That was nothing special, most teams were resentful against the Phoenixs because of their big wins. The entire team was practically immune to that type of attitude but the Greenback's pitcher was different. Not only had he tried to decapitate Number 9 with his fast ball, who was not very happy about that and his glare was turned up to its 'kill' level, but now he was trying to play around with Number 13. No one, including pitchers who thought they played better than he was, played around with Number 13 and got away with it.

_"Sasuke, give 'em the Uchiha glare." _

_"Beat his ass Sasuke." _

_"Go Number 13!" _

See, his fans knew.

The pitcher, looking a little too smug in his Greenback uniform with a turtle on the front, shook his head at some sign the bat catcher threw at him and shook it again. For a split second, the pitcher looked up and made eye contact with Number 13 and winked. He _winked _at the highest baseball player in generations and smiled to himself when Number 13 glared. Just what the hell was that fucking pitcher thinking?

The pitcher nodded a second later and positioned himself to throw. Number 13 didn't even try to hit it. Ball one. Number 13, for a brief moment, allowed his eyes to look around the baseball field. Number 33 was looking at him from in between first and second base, a smirk on the edge of his lips. The player was notorious for stealing bases and the Uta pitcher had already tried to catch him multiple times without any luck. Number 20, with his steely hit-the-ball-already glare, was on third base and Number 13 could tell he was itching to come home. Ball two. Number 13 wasn't worried, it took a lot to worry _him _after all, and he knew he responded best under pressure so he buckled down once the umpire announced the second ball.

_It was a wrap. _

The pitcher, as if noticing the sudden change in attitude, hardened his eyes and threw a ball he thought Number 13 could never hit. He was wrong. When asked, most baseball players said that they knew if their ball was going long the moment it touched the bat and Number 13 was no different. He knew the moment the red stitched ball touched forces with his signature blue and black bat, the ball was out of the park. The ball popped up and raised straight down the middle, soaring high and over the Uta infielders, who were the players on the bases and the shortstop.

_"Fly, fly, fly!" _

He heard throughout the stadium as the ball fly above the awaiting outfielders and over the fence and into the audience were it was caught by an eager fan. The stadium trembled with shouting fans and he smirked as they chanted his name. If anyone ever wanted to know how he felt every day of his life, they just needed to be in the stadium at that moment. He was the closest thing to perfection out on the field.

He, Number 33 and Number 20 scored three points for their team, a feat that could only be described as 'Phoenixy' by a certain Number 27. Such a linguist, that one. After he crossed home plate, his team mates were waiting for him with their shouts of approval and joy.

"Way to go man," said Number 33, bumping fists with him, a tradition actually carried out by teams and not just seen on television during games. "That pitcher was getting on my nerves."

"Good game," Number 27 stood up, smiled his happy-go-lucky smile, and also bumped fists with him. The manager, always trying to contain his enthusiasm gave him a nod that he accepted with a nod of his own. The coaches smiled at him. One newspaper reported once commented on how the Phoenixs made a big deal out of every homerun and Number 13 couldn't help but agree. Still, it was slightly nice to feel appreciated every time they did something good. But the game wasn't over yet. Number 13 would only be content with his home run when the game was completely over.

Later, in the locker room after the game, they had won 4-3, the manager came in. Seeing the manager in the locker room wasn't rare as he was there to give advice on certain opponents and such, but what was strange was that he had a girl with him. She was dwarfed by Jiraiya's large frame so she looked smaller than what she really was. The only things that Sasuke really noticed about her in between changing his clothes was that her hair was pink and she was wearing one of their jerseys. He couldn't tell which number though. It was obvious she was fan by the way her eyes widened when she took in each player.

"You guys played really well today. Uta is known for their aggressive pitcher but he was no match for you." The manager was an odd person. He could handle giving a long, informative talk when they lost a game but he couldn't give a congratulatory one to save his life. But it was for the best. If they won, the team wanted to be drunk and happy not listening to their manager rant for an hour about how good they played, even if that was an ego boaster.

"Hey Jiraiya," Kiba said, standing in front of his open locker, holding a wet towel around his neck, "Who's the girl?"

"Oh," the manager looked down at her. The pinked haired girl had her eyes trained on the baseball in her hand and didn't look up, even when Jiraiya put a hand on her shoulder. "This is Sakura, she caught Superstar's homerun today." The Phoenixs were the only team that allowed whoever caught a homerun to get it autographed by the player of their choice.

It made the fan happy, others almost killed themselves in the crowds of the stadium in order to get their hands on a homerun ball, and, again, it was an ego boast for the player. That's what made baseball such a self-destructive game to play. There were so many opportunities for a player to become selfish and self-centered and, ultimately, be isolated by their team. Newspapers, legions of fans, baseball cards, foam fingers, and channels with 24/7 baseball coverage could either make or break a player, especially if he was young and inexperienced in the limelight. Sasuke knew that and tried not to let all the attention go to his head. If there was anything players on a team disliked more, it was a cocky hitter.

The manager focused back the spotlight back on the girl, "So, who do you want to sign your ball?" The girl's eyes slowly rose to gaze at every player in the locker room before stopping on Sasuke. Her mouth opened but no words came out. They stayed in silence for a long moment.

"Hello." Naruto came forward, blocking her view of Sasuke and smiled down at her, "Hey, you're kinda cute." She stepped back at his words, looking skittish.

"Stupid!" Jiraiya hit him on the head causing him to step back into his own locker, "You're scaring her, stop it." Naruto grabbed his head, full of spiked up blond hair, and whined like a dejected puppy.

"Ahh shut it," Kiba said, rolling up his towel and flinging it quickly at Naruto's body which was close to his. _He missed_, Sasuke noted mildly interested.

"Okay, losing focus here," the manager said, rolling his eyes, "Just throw the ball to whoever you want to sign it and end this madness." She looked up, her face reddening, and clumsily threw the ball at the player, which happened to be Sasuke. He caught it easily.

"Be nice Sasuke," Naruto said when he noticed the bored look on his face. The blond passed him a marker from inside his locker, "She's one of your fans." Sasuke took the marker from Naruto, not answering, and signed his name on the ball. When he was finished, he threw the ball gently back at the girl but he miscalculated the distance and it bounced off her chin before falling heavily on the floor.

"Sorry," he said to her, quietly, watching as her chest began to move quickly in and out. His eyes rose to her face and he was startled to see tears gathering in her eyes. Did he really throw the ball that hard?

"Sasuke!" Jiraiya turned from him angrily and to the girl, "Are you okay, Sakura?" She knodded her head to him but started to rub her eyes so they wouldn't see her tears. "Please don't sue him, he didn't mean it," the manager said, comforting her the best way he knew how. Acknowledging that Sasuke was an idiot.

"Geez man," Naruto crossed his arms and looked over to the girl who was trying to escape from the locker room, "That was cold."

"Like I did it on purpose," Sasuke sneered, glancing at the girl. Jiraiya had picked up the ball and was offering it to her with a too big smile on his face. The girl looked him up and down and started to smile as well, taking the ball from him with gentle fingers. She laughed quietly at something she said and wiped her eyes for the umpteenth time. Sasuke heard her tell the manager goodbye and turn to exit the locker room. He felt his eyebrows raise despite himself. She was wearing his jersey, Uchiha 13. So she really was a fan of his. Hn. He didn't have time to dwell on that because the manager called to him at that moment.

"Sasuke," his voice made the player look around. His other team mates were gone and he was left with the tall muscular manager of the Phoenix team. Just how long was he sitting there for? "The owner wants to speak with you." The owner of the Konoha Phoenixs was an old guy with a lot of money and time on his hands. The team didn't seem him very often because of his busy schedule which included dining with inter-state millionaires, meeting with advertisement executives and taking internationally famous baseball players and managers on his yacht. Just like every other rich old guy with connections.

"What does he want with me?" Sasuke questioned, he wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer. The owner almost never called out a player to talk to him alone and it was rarely good news.

"I don't know, boy, I'm just the messenger. Limo's outside, get a move on." He followed Jiraiya, slowly, out of the stadium he called home and into the owner's limousine. Inside, it smelled like expensive foreign wine and cigar smoke. Okay it was obvious the man had money coming out his ass but did he really have to make it so obvious? But it was understandable. The money the owner made off the team, the individual players and their endorsements was enough to buy a small man made island.

Sasuke leaned his head against the glass window and sank deeper into his seat. The city lights whizzed in and out of his vision like distorted firefly lights that he could never see clearly. He watched calmly as the grand city of Konoha, the city everyone was always talking about, flashed past his vision. He had to admit, compared to Oto, Konoha was a much better place to live in but compared to other cities, Konoha was lacking. For example, the city of Clearwater Bay in the state of Ame, although filled with security at every turn, wasn't bad to look at. Everything was multiple shades of the blue, including all the buildings and smooth sidewalks. He had walked around it before, during their last game in Ame against their team, the Storm Raiders, and it was relaxing to look at during the night time. Almost everything glittered and the smell of the ocean was never far away.

Another underrated city that he liked for no reason was Flora Valley in the state of Kusa. He had to admit to himself, the Flora Gems sucked as a baseball team and they were just amateurs that never won anything, but their city made up for it. Flora Valley was an actually valley, a small town surrounded by huge green mountains with an endless supply of water and, despite that it rained every day, the sun was fairly strong there. Everything was green in Flora Valley and it was the greenest, in color and in its succeeded attempts to coexist with nature peacefully and almost pollution free environment, and it was relaxing. After being surrounded by gray buildings or pitiful slums for his entire life, it was a nice change in scenery even if there was an excess amount of flowers.

Compared to those cities, Konoha was only better because of the transportation and style of living. You could get anything you wanted in Konoha at any time of day, or night, without a problem. It was all there. People lived fast paced lives in an effort to everything in a city like the one he lived in and everyone wanted to be there.

It was a shame that he had lived most of his life in a dark place that suffocated and was named Oto City.

His thoughts seemed to have made the drive go by faster. They soon arrived to the Hokage Tower in the economic center of Konoha City. It was a huge skyscraper that had a white LED news ticker running around the entire building that was easily readable from the sidewalk. There were frequently phrases like 'Go get 'em Phoenixs' and 'Konohans! Show your fire' which people almost never read. What they did read were the sports scores that were displayed every hour on hour of previous Phoenix games.

The entrance of the building was decorated with two lines of well clothed men, and one woman, who were turned to face each other as if they were guards at some royal castle. They were all dressed in black suits with white gloves and dark sunglasses even though there wasn't much sun outside. He was already used to the 'Men in Black' who guarded the owner and all his savings at every time of the day. There was a frequent rumor in the dugout that said that each other 'Men in Black' were actually high class ninjas that knew every martial art known to man and were always ready to jump into a fight. No one, except Naruto, believed that.

Sasuke and Jiraiya had to go through the lobby of the Hokage Tower, which resembled an airport with all the people rolling around luggage, and to the golden elevator at the corner of the main ball room. It had large dangling chandeliers, guys with bowties and funny names who served complicated sounding appetizers and the room was used as an anytime food room for any sophisticated occasion, like breakfast. Sasuke stepped into the elevator, followed by Jiraiya, and the elevator man who eyed him with barely hidden glee.

"Yo-You're Sasuke Uchiha! Of the Phoenixs! My-my family and I are your biggest fans and I-"

"We don't have much time," Jiraiya said nicely, his mouth tight, "Please just take us to the fifty-first floor."

Which was odd considering the Tower only boasted fifty floors to the public. The fifty-first floor was hidden to anyone who wasn't part of the Phoenix franchise. Ten minutes later, the golden elevator doors opened to reveal a dark hallway and two men in black on each side of the elevator.

"Welcome Mr. Uchiha, please follow me," one of them said, taking the toothpick out of his mouth to talk. His bored black eyes shifted from the people in the elevator to the man standing beside him. "Yo," he whispered to the other man wearing complete black, "Tell the boss they're here." The man knodded and walked swiftly into the dark part of the hall, disappearing.

Sasuke was led into a room at the end of the hall that was partly hidden in the darkness. The doors opened, the bright lights switched on, and what looked like a board room waited for him. There were no windows, Sasuke noted. The owner, the elder Sarutobi, sat at the head of the half moon table with two business men on each side of him.

"What the hell is going on?" Sasuke whispered, looking at all of them in distrusting confusion. Someone he couldn't see pushed him toward the half moon table so he stood at its side like a lonely star. "The fuck-"

"Watch your mouth Sasuke," he heard Jiraiya say from his position by the door.

Elder Sarutobi looked at him with a weak gaze and waved his hand as if batting a fly, "Jiraiya, Genma, you are dismissed."

Sasuke glanced at manager, who blanched openly, "But Mr. Sarutobi, Sir, I think that-"

"You may be the master on the baseball field but this is my territory. You are dismissed." Sasuke watched the manager and the man exit the room, leaving him in the uncomfortable room.

"Sasuke," Elder Sarutobi said and pointed to a location above the younger man's left shoulder, "Please turn your attention to the screen behind you." Sasuke turned slowly, as if expecting the worse, and saw a flat screen television being lowered from the ceiling. It was almost about as tall as he was. The screen turned a rich blue for a moment before coming alive.

_"My life," the rough/soft voice, like velvet is heard over the speakers. The voice is accompanied by the wooden sound of a bat hitting a baseball. A roaring crowd that comes to life in cheers, shouting out his name. A quick view of his Number 13 jersey and the camera pans on his running cleats as he slides toward one of the bases. _

_"Is all about high expectations..." The camera stays on Number 13's jersey as he runs again. The sound of a car engine coming to life in a sound that could only be described as a happy purr invades the picture. Quickly, the sun glints off the surface of a smoothly painted black car that shines like a cooling star. The camera pans on the tires as the car powers up and takes off at an amazing speed. A shot of the key chain in the ignition, a miniature jersey with the number 13 on it swings back in forth in time with the car's own metronome. _

_"That's why I like cars that meet those expectations head on," his voice is silky smooth and slightly seductive as he half-whispers his words, a shot of his pale hands gripping the wheel. _

_"That's why I only drive Neptunes," the screeching sound of a car taking off, as if breaking the sound barrier, "Because when you are the best," a crowd screams, "You deserve the best." He lowers the dark glasses on his nose and looks up at the road with a seductive smirk on his face. _

_"Drive Neptunes," his voice now was a whisper, which caused the smirk on his face to grow larger, "And raise your expectations." The cars speeds out of view on an open road toward the setting sun. The screen faded to black and the stats of the car model he had been driving flash on the screen. The screen dims. _

It was his commercial for Neptunes, a car company that specialized in fast, sensual, luxury cars of any size and shape. They weren't the most in demand cars before the commercial began to air but since the ad the cars had been selling out at every dealership. Cars Rule! magazine had named the Neptune G-603, the car in the commercial, as one of the most fuel efficient and all around sexiest car of the year. He had known, he had to pose for the magazine with the same fucking car as the commercial. Just a cool lean on the side of the car with his arms crossed, looking down at the camera like the kind of world. It had been a good year.

"Mr. Uchiha, my name is Mr. Rye," Sasuke's attention was quickly drawn to the man sitting to the right of Elder Sarutobi. He looked young enough with gelled up blond hair and foggy green eyes that looked at him as if they were trying to find an imperfection. _Good luck with that. _

"What do you think of your commercial, Mr. Uchiha?" he asked.

"I think it's good," Sasuke replied simply, not knowing what more he could have said.

"Just 'good', Mr. Uchiha?" Rye repeated, leaning forward on his papers, "Not great? And how much did you make from the contract with NepCo?"

Sasuke didn't like how the man was speaking to him. He sounded too sure of himself. "Two point five million."

"Really? _Only _two million, five hundred thousand dollars, Mr. Uchiha?" Only? Two million dollars was a lot of money to some people, was the man insane?

The man on the other side of Elder Sarutobi, he looked polished and well mannered with dark hair and even darker eyes, said, "What my partner was trying to say was that you could be making a lot more money than you presently are. You are the highest paid man in the majors and you could have it all if you...," the man made eye contact with Sasuke, "Altered your image a bit."

The outfielder didn't like where the conversation was going. "What do you mean alter my image? Is that what this fucking meeting is about?"

"Sasuke," Elder Sarutobi said sternly, "Watch your language."

"Anyway," Mr. Prim and Proper continued, "When we say alter your image we mean that...we want to make Sasuke Uchiha more family friendly."

"I'm a player, not a product. I can't _be _changed." He didn't understand anything. If he played good enough to get paid millions for it, why did his image even matter. "Why?" Sasuke said without conviction, "Why do I need to change myself in the first place? To make more people like me?"

"No," said Rye, "Not entirely. You see we polled some of the young women that flock at your games. More than half of them want to date you but three quarters of those young women believe you would either be too rough with them or break their heart."

Sasuke frowned, he found he was losing interest in the conversation very swiftly. "Start making sense now or I'm leaving," he said stubbornly, crossing his arms in his annoyed stance.

"You will do no such thing," said Mr. Cool, "This is to help you."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, glaring at the man, "And how is making more girls like me helping me?" That was a stupid question.

"Not by making more young women like you," Rye replied, slightly amused, "If your image becomes softer, a cool city family man, your fan base will increase and more endorsements will pour in. You'll be making more money than you can-"

"So this is about money?" Sasuke spat out, "You drag me here after a game to sell me out? What the fuck is wrong with you? Do you have any idea who you're talking to?"

"Sasuke," Sarutobi matched his glare, "I am not going to tell you one more time to watch your mouth."

He sucked his teeth, a habit he had picked up from Naruto or Kiba, and frowned harder when the men began to talk. "We're not selling you out," insisted Rye, "More money would help the team and help you too. Don't you want to help your brother?"

The air in the room suddenly turned dark as Sasuke glared harsh daggers at the man.

How dare he speak of his brother...he certainly had a death wish.

"Shut up," Sasuke spoke through clenched teeth in an effort to contain his anger. No one was even allowed to mention his brother around him.

"More money would help with his current situation and I think-" Faster than they could see, Sasuke raced across the room and grabbed Rye by his pressed collar and hauled him up to eye level. The blond man banged his knee against the table in his effort to escape the player's grasp.

"Shut the fuck up now and I might consider letting you keep your head." But the other man wasn't about to be walked on, despite Sasuke's obvious anger.

"Don't you want him to walk again?" Rye asked, his eyes narrowed as he looked at Sasuke closely. A white hot anger, so hot that it burned him on the inside, began to boil in Sasuke and it started to make the back of his neck sweat.

The topic of his brother was off limits and any one who even mentioned him, because of Sasuke's current feud with his brother, was subjected to murderous glares or a punch in the face. Depending on his mood.

His brother, Itachi, had been a baseball player on the Oto Cobras as well until a car accident paralyzed him from the waist down. Sasuke was extremely defensive, even if he was angry, when people began talking about his family, especially his brother. The brother that taught him everything he knew about baseball and how to survive in it. But, at the moment, Sasuke couldn't even bring himself to shout and throttle the man, because he was right. The surgeries and rehabilitation classes to get his brother to walk again weren't free and he frequently sent money back home to Oto to help his brother. Still, playing the brother card on him was a low blow. Everyone from Jiraiya to Naruto to the owner knew that his only weakness was his brother's limited mobility.

Those business guys were playing to win it all.

He dropped the man, he made sure to almost slam him down on his seat and walked backwards to stand before them again. "What do I have to do?" Maybe he just imagined it but he could have sworn that the business men started to grin evil grins. "I'm going to regret this," Sasuke said to himself and dug his hands into the pockets of his pants.

"No you won't," said Rye, fixing his ugly tie, "With our help, you'll make more money than any actor and actress in the world combined." Exaggeration # 1. He was sure it would not be the last.

"Whatever," Sasuke said roughly, still uncomfortable with the whole idea, "Just start talking." He wondered, strangely, why it felt as if he was making a deal with the devil. He had met the devil before though, he was the manager of the Oto Cobras, and he never felt like he did whenever he talked to _Orochimaru. _

No, he felt worse. As if his own soul was ripped from his body and was currently being molded by their hands as they talked about what they were going to do to him. They were going to change him to make more money and mooch off of his skills. _They _didn't call it mooching but beneath all the purposely confusing language and hyperboles, he knew that was what they were planning to do. He wasn't sure he liked that idea ...but they had mentioned his brother. He hated to admit that, if ever faced with the choice, he would sell his soul to the _actual _devil, who was probably just Orochimaru in disguise, to help the man who had taught him how to play the game they both loved.

He would have to suck it up and take it like a man. With that thought, he turned his eyes and ears on the men currently speaking to each other in excited tones, with the owner between them looking very pleased. Sasuke was still angry but that anger was slowly being replaced by a feeling of indifference. Whatever they said would never change the way he played and settled from holding his tongue through the entire thing. He would survive, they didn't call him Superstar for nothing.


	3. Caging the Dark Phoenix

**Disclaimer Valid Until End of Story: **Naruto and Co. are owned by Masashi Kishimoto. The Twilight series is owned by Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement intended.

**Author's Note**: Thanks again to everyone who has reviewed/favorited/alerted/ or taken an interest in this story. I know that a sport story is not the easiest story to get people to check out because they think that 1) the sport is boring 2) the sport scenes aren't convincing enough or 3) they think that the story is _just _going to be focused on baseball and not anything else. Don't worry though, I hope to make this a story anyone can enjoy.

And review guys, it doesn't matter how long or how short your review is. Questions, comments and constructive criticism is also welcomed (but so help me if you just review to tell me only _your story sucks_ I'm going to mock you in computer-anger-capslock. Fear the caps!!)

But anyway, is chapter is mostly just a filler, although I hope it's an entertaining one.

**:Konoha Phoenixs:**

_Sorry guys, no baseball scenes in this chapter. Take a break from all the numbers. _

As always, enjoy and please review.

**

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**

Shatter With the Rain

_Chapter Three**: **_Caging the Dark Phoenix

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Sasuke got home late that night, so late that the time on his cell phone didn't matter anymore. The damn thing seemed to be lying to him anyway. His body, the body that had resisted the Devil's training camp during his Oto Cobra days and Konoha's killer coaches Tsunade and Ebisu, felt drained of all its energy. For an athlete, especially one of his skill, that was never a good thing. The moment he opened the front door to his monster penthouse he collapsed against the soft white carpet. He was half inside his home, half in the hallway but he didn't really care and he was sure his neighbors wouldn't mind.

He lived in the White Building, a high class apartment building of modern day suites that rivaled that of a five star hotel. Each apartment was so spacious that even the smallest of apartments had two rooms available for use. Sasuke lived, and mostly conversed with, the people who lived on the top floor of the White Building. Each of the highest pent houses had a wall that was floor to ceiling windows that overlooked the city below. From the outside it looked like a skyscraper with a tall, silver pointed stop that glowed white light every now and then. The building overlooked Downtown Konoha and was a haven for the wealthy and the beautiful. It was called the White Building because almost everything inside, and outside, was white. Original, ne?

Sasuke's eyelids felt heavy and the more he tried to find a way to energize his body while on the floor, the weaker he felt. Jiraiya had called an emergency practice session after the _fucking_ meeting had ended so he, who was tired from the game and the mind blowing meeting, had to practice like his ass was on fire. His other team mates were energized and laughing with other, all happy and full of life, and he didn't even have the energy to hit them so they could shut up. The cause of all his frustration and especially bad aura was something that he was told in the meeting.

He had to get married.

_Married!_

That was the whole complicated plan the business men had come up with for his endorsement and image problem. Marriage! Him, Sasuke Uchiha, outfielder for the Konoha Phoenixs and supreme millionaire, had to get married!

Him, Sasuke Uchiha, the one who his team mates called 'the emotional Rubik's cube that refuses to be solved', had to get married to a complete stranger!

The plan seemed too simple to him until they explained every single _fucking _detail of it. He had to get married to a humble, family oriented girl with morals. He had to _like her _or at least pretend to like her when they went out _in public together. _He had to pose for a photo with her, and give an interview, for the biggest celebrity magazine in the country. If any other advertisement campaigns came up, he had to do them with _her. _And he had to do it all, in the spur of the moment, wearing a _fucking _wedding ring and make sure his team mates did nothing to reveal the secret.

When he had tried to tell those penguins, a.k.a annoying business men that he would never forget, that marrying another girl would make his fangirls angry or jealous instead of loving him, they had laughed, all except for Elder Sarutobi. At their laughter, Sasuke could feel his control slipping. They had calmly told him, when he got _that look _in his eyes, that when the fans saw him married, they would imagine what would happen if they were married to him. They would picture him as a family man and have more respect for him as a human than a baseball god.

He didn't see the logic in that at all. He _was _supposed to be looked at as a sports god. _No one_ wanted to scream for an average person who had a good arm and good aim. But _everyone _wanted to scream for a baseball deity with good looks and untouchable abilities that made him seem more than perfect.

Their plan was a load of bullshit.

If that plan hadn't come up, he wasn't even sure that he wanted to be married someday. His current love-less life filled with exotic dancers was okay and it held no commitments that would hinder him.

The sudden ring of his cell phone, loud and hip hop in nature, gave away who was calling and he turned his body to stick his hand inside his pants pocket.

"What?" he growled into the receiver. There was loud techno, stripper music in the background. Great.

_"Yo Superstar, where are you man? The ladies are getting restless. They want their Sasuke!" _

Tch. Sometimes, he wanted to punch Kiba. The shortstop had a habit of calling at the most inopportune times. "I'm not coming," he said, his voice low as he lay on his back, the door still open.

_"You're not coming!?" _Kiba said it loud enough so everyone in hearing distance could understand him. A few disappointed murmurs could be heard. _"Why not? What about Erica?" _As if she was that important. At the moment, he felt as if he couldn't get up even if his _mother commanded_ him to.

"I don't want to and fuck Erica." He just wanted to fester in his bad mood or sleep it off. Whichever came first.

Kiba gave mock gasp, _"Really? Can I? I mean cuz I hav-"  
_

"Whatever, whatever have fun, bye." He flipped his phone shut and put it on the ground next to him.

His social life, as little as it existed, didn't have to be over just because he was going to get married, against his will, but the thought of marriage itself sucked. From what he could tell, marriage was a disease that changed people and turned them into slaves for each other, and that was only if they liked each other. If they didn't, it was constant battle after battle and each ended worse than the last.

His head rose sharply as a thought came to him. _What if the girl was ugly? _No, those business guys wouldn't purposely pick an ugly girl that he had to bring out _in public_, right? Besides, ugly was an opinion, not a fact. He could find something attractive about her if he tried hard enough.

_What if she had body odor? _Eww.

_What if his wife was a crazy hippy that would put incense every where, try to convince him to drive a hybrid, give up his worthy possessions and become a vegan?_

Sasuke never had much of a love life and his exs were all mistakes. He knew nothing about womanizing like Kiba and Naruto did. He couldn't even handle women for a long period of time, except for his mother and another unmentionable. His head dropped to the floor, the carpet cushioned the impact somewhat. The possibilities of him getting stuck with a crazy woman that he would not stand were endless.

Footsteps on the hard tiles outside his apartment alerted him to another presence. He sat up and looked at the woman standing there.

"Sasuke? What are you doing here? And why do you look so dead?" He sighed and shook his head when she came closer to help him up.

It was Tenten, _the unmentionable woman that he was not supposed to stand as much as he did. _But, in his defense, she was very likable. She liked in the apartment next to his and had been the first person he could say, but never would, he made friends with in Konoha.

He had liked her so much that he even dated her for a while, she was a wild change from the flame colored whore that he had dated in Oto. He never slept with her though and it was probably a good thing that he didn't. His team mates on the Phoenixs, Kiba and Naruto mainly, didn't take kindly to their relationship. They acted like bastards to him the first few weeks of his new life with them, pulling pranks, purposely excluding him and talking about him, not that he cared, constantly. It didn't bother him, they acted like girls anyway, but he didn't know the truth. He thought that it was just the way they treated the new guy but he was wrong. When Tenten had found out what had happened between him and the team, she had hugged him tightly, too tightly, and told him that it was all her fault.

Neji Hyuuga, first baseman of the Konoha Phoenixs and one of the major players, and her had been dating until they decided to take a break for a while to gather their feelings. At that same time, Sasuke had come into the picture and the team. He had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time. It was obvious to him, after she had told him the whole story, that she still had feelings for her ex-boyfriend. The thought didn't hurt him as much as he had originally thought and he had gained the respect of his team when they realized everything was just a misunderstanding and that Sasuke wasn't flaunting his girlfriend to make Neji angry.

But all that mattered to Sasuke was that, for the first time, he looked out for another woman's, and man's, happiness. Regularly, he wouldn't have cared if they went back together, it wasn't his style, but if he was going to lose her, he was going to lose her to someone who would treat her much better than he ever did.

Not that he didn't treat her right but Sasuke was, even though he refused to admit it, an emotional Rubik's cube and one that refused to be solved. Not only was he an uncooperative Rubik's cube that wiggled this way and waned that way and tried to jump on whoever had a hold on him, but he was a hard one to solve. It was like a little kid had taken him and just twisted the cube in a bunch of directions, uncaring and left him with multi-colored faces that a normal person would just be too frustrated to solve because there seemed to be no solution. His team mates were right when they called him that.

In a way, he was an emotional puzzle that wanted to be left _fucked up_ for centuries.

But Sasuke still hung out with Tenten when he had time to kill and even though she lived with the Icebox, he never seemed to mind either. Neji, however, was not only an emotional, intellectual and _psychological _Rubik's cube that Tenten had managed to crack, but he was also a physically emotionless one. Sasuke thought Neji didn't mind it when he spent time with Tenten but Neji...Neji was a different story. He was, though, a lot more mellow with Tenten around than he was with the Phoenixs. She seemed to have a good effect on him and his holier-than-thou attitude.

"Sasuke," his attention was drawn back to the figure standing in his doorway and he stood up, bracing himself on the door knob to keep from falling. Tenten stared at him with her big brown eyes, "Did you overwork yourself?"

He almost sucked his teeth at her question. Sure, he used to have a bad habit of overworking himself, and had passed out as a rookie a few times because of that, but he wasn't like that anymore. As a starting player, he had mastered his body's capabilities and the strength it held. It was annoying to be constantly reminded of one's mistakes, even if Tenten had his wellbeing in mind.

"I'm fine really," he was about to turn to walk back into his penthouse when her hand stopped him. He turned his head to look at her.

She had cocked her head to the side and stared into the dark depths of his ebony eyes, her grip on his arm tightening. "You're lying to me, aren't you?"

"What? You are a crazy woman, let go."

"Come," she tugged him toward her penthouse next door to his. His home was at the end of a hall and hers was to the right. If a line was drawn from Tenten and Neji's door to Sasuke's door it would make an uppercase L. "Come in for some coffee or beer or whatever and you can tell me what's wrong."

"Nothing I'm fine." It was a really bad idea to try to pull a fast one on Tenten, considering she knew him better as Sasuke _the person _instead of Sasuke _the player. _

"If you don't tell me now, it's going to be eating away at you until you tell me and you know you don't want to go into a game with _that _on your mind." She was right, except for the part about it eating away at him. After dating, and still dating, two Major League baseball players, Tenten had mastered baseball psychology: the single act of getting any player to tell her anything because she would argue that they couldn't concentrate in the game if they didn't tell her. Concentration was the other thing needed on the baseball diamond besides skill to succeed.

So, Sasuke reluctantly agreed to some tea, because beer was out of the question and he didn't like coffee.

All the penthouses on the top floor of the White Building had the same layouts but unlike his which had a cool atmosphere and lava lamps, which were not his fault because they had been there when he moved in and they didn't bother him at all, Tenten's had her apartment heavily decorated. She had professional portraits of almost all of the Phoenix players on her walls along with fan banners, exclusive collectables, a few Naruto bobble heads (_exclusively ridiculous_) and she had everything autographed.

She was crazy with having players autograph her possessions. Every time a different player came to the her house, he had to sign a baseball or anything else that was in her home. Kiba had signed her dining room table multiple times, Naruto had signed every picture of himself with his favorite saying, and Sasuke had signed one of her chairs. Neji didn't really need to sign anything because he was "signing" her bed a few times every night in his own way.

Sasuke stepped into her home, trying to forget that bit about Neji and "signing" and followed her to her white couch and waited while she went into the kitchen and made tea.

"Is the Icebox home yet?" he asked, his eyes scanning the huge window that sat to his left. It was directly across from their plasma screen television, which came with the pent house and the screen was reflected a little off the glass, along with the entire room. Other people had said that having floor to ceiling windows was a bad thing, for some reason or other Sasuke always forgot, but he rather liked them. They gave the person looking out of them the feeling of flying or, if not flying, than floating in mid-air over the city.

Tenten laughed at the nickname and said, "He's in the bed room. I think he got here right before you did. Jiraiya's really pushing you guys, isn't he? I guess that's what it takes to be the best."

Her words triggered the commercial for the Neptunes in his mind and that thought flowed to the one about him marrying a girl he had never met. He massaged his temples slowly.

"I knew something was bothering you, c'mon you know you want to tell me." Her voice sounded closer as she had stepped out of the kitchen for a moment to look him over.

"I'm getting married."

The sound of iron and water hitting the floor reached his ears and he stood up quickly. "Shit!" Tenten yelled out, grabbing her hand which had been burned when she tipped over the small pot of water. Another sound that was heard a second after she had yelled out was that of a door hitting its frame and a person running toward the kitchen.

"Tenten! Tenten! What's wrong? What happened?" Neji was dressed only in a pair of...cuddly bear...shorts and he ran so fast that he almost skidded on the floor Tenten had instead of carpet. The woman he was shouting for was wrapping her hand in a moist towel while trying to keep her laughter under control.

Sasuke was speechless for two reasons: one was that his first baseman was wearing very, very, very girly shorts (he was too pale to be a baseball player but Sasuke guessed that he was no different) and two was that he had never seen Neji so frantic before. Especially over something as small as a hot water burn.

Neji tried to calm himself but the fear that had coursed through him at hearing Tenten cry out did not leave him. He had put on the only thing he could fine because something told him not to greet her in the nude, and it had been her bear shorts.

Sasuke couldn't find the words to tell the Icebox how hilarious he looked so he just settled for moving out of the way while Neji attended to his girlfriend. He sat back down on the couch and stared absentmindly at the ceiling while Neji tried to convince Tenten to go to the hospital. She kept trying to tell him that she was okay, when in the middle of it all she shouted, "Sasuke! What do you mean you're getting married?"

Thank god that front door was soundproof, _fangirls had ears like bats! _

Neji whipped around so fast his sleek hair flew into her face and he tried to stare down his team mate. "You are getting married? To that cheap stripper?"

"Stripper?" Tenten echoed, looking helplessly confused, "You're getting married to a stripper?" They sat down on the coach across from him, looking slightly interested.

"No," Sasuke said, messaging his temples faster. No matter how hard he did it, his head ache persisted, "Not a stripper," _Hopefully not a stripper_, "I don't even know her."

They were confused, he could tell by their silence, so he told them everything he could in few words. He could trust Tenten and Neji to an extent, even Neji wasn't his most favorite person but he and Tenten were close. He told them about the meaning, the whole your-image-is-too-hard-soften-it-by-getting-married-make-money plan. They listening intently, nodding every few sentences but were at a loss for words when he finished.

At least he thought Tenten was, Neji just looked at him, with those almost transparent rain drop eyes of his, and said, "So you are just doing this for the money?"

"You could say that," Sasuke replied, looking up at him. On the team, Neji always played by the rules and he made sure everyone else did as well, so it was no surprise that he was partly disgusted by him and the money plan. It made no difference to Sasuke, Neji was a hard ass after all.

"So you are a sell out." Hearing it from his mouth, Sasuke couldn't help the wave of sudden annoyance and anger that hit him. He wasn't a sell out, he was never going to be a sell out. The word itself made him want to curl himself in a corner and hiss like a vampire forced to face the light of day.

"No I am not," he said firmly, "I need the money."

"For what?" Neji spat, "More evenings with your ugly stripper?" He didn't dignify that question with an answer. The Icebox didn't know what he was talking about. He was stuck in his 18th Century world were everyone followed the rules, stayed on their levels and almost everything that stood for individuality was frowned upon.

Tenten glanced at Neji before leaning forward to Sasuke and whispered, "How's he doing anyway?"

Sasuke knew who 'he' was. "He's bitter," he replied in a low voice, "The rehab and constant vigilance of my parents is frustrating him to the point where he has started to smoke."

"Smoke? But he's an athlete," her eyes almost glowed, "Doesn't he believe he's going to walk again?" Tenten was the only person he had personally told about the details of his brother's accident.

A few years had passed since that day and it still irritated Sasuke to think about it. His brother, Itachi, and some of his friends had been driving in his race car _investment_, probably high out of their minds, when the car slammed into an oncoming tracker trailer. Itachi's girlfriend was killed on contact, the person in the back seat broke his leg and suffered minor facial injuries while Itachi, the driver, slipped into a deep coma.

Itachi had been a player on the Oto Cobras during the time of his accident, Sasuke as well was just starting his career on his home based team, but his condition kept him from playing. When Sasuke had visited his brother after he had awakened to find himself unable to move his legs, Itachi had promised that he would get better and join his younger brother on the field some day very soon. He seemed to have forgotten that promise.

Some time after their conversation, Sasuke signed a contract with the Konoha Phoenixs to help his brother with the money his new alliance provided. As one of, if not the most, sought after player in the Major League, he was offered a stable, ten year, two hundred ninety million dollar contract with the Phoenixs and he took it without batting an eyelash.

Sasuke's Oto team mates and some of his fans considered him a traitor for going to their arch rival but he didn't care. It was for his brother's wellbeing so he could stand for their _Traitor Uchiha _posters and boo's when he got to the plate. But after three years and millions of dollars later, Itachi was starting to lose hope and that meant that the next time the Phoenixs had a game in Oto he would have to visit him. He didn't _have _to but a small part of him, a part that still lived in the past, wanted to see his brother again.

Still, he hated going back home. He was a different person that he had been when he left Oto. He had always been edgy and irritable when he was younger, he had finally found inner peace in Konoha, although there were some annoying moments in it. Oto felt darker than it used to. There were too many memories strewn about the city like half dead butterflies that haunted him despite how small and harmless they seemed from far away.

"He doesn't," he finally told Tenten, his voice serious, "But that is not going to stop me from helping him the only way I know how."

"Which reminds me," Neji said, leaning back on the pearl couch, "There is a game toward the end of next month against the Cobras in Oto."

_Fuck. _He was going to have to face his problem faster than he thought. He inwardly cursed himself for not checking the team game calendar more often.

"Wow, that's rough. So," Tenten's voice suddenly took on a lighter tone, he didn't like the sound of it, "When's the wedding?"

Great, more problems. Including the worst kind of problem: _women._

"I don't know," he sighed, "I don't know anything anymore." He hated sounding so pathetic.

"Cheer up," Tenten told him with a smile, "At least you won't be lonely anymore."

"As if I was ever lonely with you two next door."

"You know what I mean," she stood up and walked toward the refrigerator which was partially visible from where Sasuke was sitting, "Stick around and watch a movie with us. It's almost morning anyway."

He glanced at her, his eyes burning a little, "Do you ever sleep?"

"She does," Neji nodded to her, "But only during the day time, she is like a vampire."

Tenten suddenly rushed to the couch and jumped on Neji, leaning heavily on his shoulder, "I vant to suck your vlood honey." Neji tried to keep his face stoic at her attempt to be a blood sucker but he couldn't stop the small flush from appearing on his face.

_Hm_, Sasuke thought with slight amusement, _Seems like the Icebox is melting. _

Neji gripped his girlfriend closer to him and started to lean forward in the direction of her lips, _highly inappropriate for an old fashioned ass, _when Sasuke coughed.

They turned to him, a little embarrassed and he said, "Well I'm leaving now. Do we have practice tomorrow?"

"Aww Sasuke don't leave yet, the night's still young." "Sorry but _I _need sleep, when do we have practice?"

"Tomorrow, noon," Neji said, partially distracted by Tenten's moist lips.

"Goodnight then," Sasuke really didn't want to sit there while they made out on the couch. He glanced at them once before he opened the door to leave and was not surprised to see them try to suck each other's faces off. He wasn't jealous or bitter of Tenten and Neji's relationship. He would never be jealous of another with all that he had in his life, still...something in him stung to see them so happy with each other. He didn't know what it was but it bothered him.

As a ball player, he always got what he wanted but in real life he always seemed to be the odd man out.

At Into the Fire.

At the White Building.

In Oto.

Always.

He hated to think about it that way, but it was true. Maybe, it was his own fault. Maybe he pushed everyone away so much so that everywhere he went he was already considered the loner. Maybe he kept an invisible bubble around himself subconsciously even though he wanted to get close to people. He remembered a quote he once heard, or saw, somewhere: _people build walls around themselves just to see who cares enough to bring them down. _Did no one care about his walls then? Did he frighten people off when they tried to help? Was it his fault that he had grown up believing that relationships made people weak and handicapped them in the long run? Was his loneliness inevitable? He was lonely, he was sure everyone he had ever known had mentioned it one time or another, so why didn't he ever admit that he was?

Sasuke paused when he opened his own door when another thought entered his mind. The more he thought about it, the more he realized he had never been in a long, stable relationship with a woman before. Maybe marriage wouldn't be such a bad thing after all. All the hard, annoying work had been done for him already, he just had to agree, well at least mock agree, and he would have a woman. Probably one that was far from being his type or his exact opposite in every way but he would still have a woman. For better or worse? Maybe not. Although the arrangement was not the way he had planned to find a woman, it worked.

_It's like Insta-Wife, just add the--_ He shook his head. What was he thinking? He wasn't doing the marriage for himself, it was for his brother. He couldn't act selfishly. He probably wouldn't even like his future wife, so why was he already planning to have a relationship with her? He really did need sleep, only when he was _extremely _tired did his thoughts flow around his head like warm caramel and melted chocolate and tasted just as sweet in his mouth. Everything felt simpler when he was tired.

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A/N:

_Two _vampire references in this chapter! _I guess I've been reading too many Twilight fanfics lately. (As if there could ever be too many sexy vampires in one's life pfft) Please review!_


	4. Baseball Diamonds Are Forever

**Disclaimer: **Naruto and Co. are owned by Masashi Kishimoto. No copyright infringement intended.

**Author's Note**: Meh. Enjoy. Next chapter will have more UMPH I promise. This chapter just needed to be written first.

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Shatter With the Rain

_Chapter Four__**: (**_Baseball_**)**_ Diamonds Are Forever

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A week passed in which the Konoha Phoenixs did nothing but practice plays and exercise in the gym until their bodies felt worked to the bone. In that week Sasuke thought nothing about the grand plan or the business guys or anything that didn't have to do with baseball. He thought about the sport the moment he awoke, he thought about it on his way to the stadium, he thought about it before going to sleep and he dreamed about it whenever he got the chance. The only time he didn't think about baseball was when he was playing it and it was the only time he felt at peace.

God how he _loved _endorphins. They were his anti-steroids.

But one particular morning, a morning that would become synonymous in his mind with the words _'fuckingshitcocksuckerahhhfuckyou' _he got a wake up call. Sasuke's cell phone with its heavy metal ring tone that made his senses vibrate and the high volume of the speakers, startled him out of a blank dream. Stuck in that damn stage between sleep and wakefulness, he drowsily grabbed his cell phone from its position near him on the bed and answered it with a sleepy grunt. It was Elder Sarutobi and Sasuke could barely make out the man's words on the other end. The owner was probably at a race car event or at a space shuttle station or something else that only people with a specific hobby went to that was loud as hell.

"Sasuke," Elder Sarutobi said slowly, "Dress in your best suit and come down to the Hokage Building at ten, you will be meeting your wife."

_Huh? _was what he couldn't help but think, _They should have at least warned me a few days before. _

And, at least, the sentence drew him out of his sleep haze. "The wedding will be as soon as possible, " _son of a bitch, this old man is going to kill me, _"First, you will be joined at City Hall and then, in no more than three days, an actual wedding on the shoreline. Prepare yourself. Good--"

"Wait," he breathed into the receiver, digging his other hand in his thick head of hair in an attempt to wake up his brain, "What about the team and my team mates? What about practice?"

"Practices, extra-training sessions, therapies, gym memberships and the sorts have been temporarily suspended until after the actual wedding. Your team mates will not know about the wedding until the actual date, they will think they are just getting a brief vacation." That was an abnormality in sports. Players, especially really good players, didn't take _brief _vacations or vacations for that matter. They were dedicated to their job one hundred percent. To them, every day on the field was like a vacation. "If you have no more questions, that will be all."

Elder Sarutobi hung up before Sasuke could get another word in. He stared at his cell phone long after the call had ended and then threw it across his darkened room. It was a flip phone shaped like a black rectangular box which the dealer said would _'survive even the worst of cell phone offences'_. He bought it for the slim chance that he would ever get so agitated that he would slam it against a wall. And he did so, again and again when he was very agitated. It made him feel a little better and the phone only had minor scratches on it.

He stood up from his bed and stretched his arms out above his head, waking up the tense muscles of his shoulders. He looked around his room. It was plain with just a dark bed, a black bureau near the bed, a closet filled with either training sweats, uniform underclothes or regular clothes, and a few drawers that stood near the door. The other room right next door was a storage of sorts with a bed, some other pieces of furniture the room came with, and was covered with his arm and leg weights, all of his cleats, huge trophies that stood above his knee, autographed pictures, all his bats, balls and gloves, and any other baseball related thing that a player would need.

He trudged to the bath room standing perpendicular to the second bedroom and entered the shower slowly. He wanted to stall time. After what had crossed his mind the night before, he didn't feel like meeting his future wife anymore. His thoughts were the most dangerous thing he possessed, including the gun his father had given him for his twentieth birthday. Sasuke wasn't even sure he knew where the gun was at the moment. He showered and brushed his teeth thoroughly before stepping out of his bathroom with a white towel around his waist.

He knew he only owned two suits, which he wore during press meetings, regular meetings or special dinners that had to do with the baseball association and Sasuke hated wearing them. They made him feel too tamed and it was uncomfortable to move since he was so used to the freedom that baseball jerseys gave him. But, he couldn't deny that suits made him look more intelligent. He didn't consider himself an idiot but athletes were frequently thought of as 'all brawns, no brains.'

When it came to the Phoenix team, that was not true. All of the players had a moderately high level of intelligence. Back home, Sasuke had attended Black Sound University in the Black Sound district of Oto even when he had already signed a contract with the Cobras. Naruto, the Nara, the Akimichi and the Hyuuga had all gone to Konoha Central University also when their contracts were almost ready. Kiba didn't have enough money when he was younger to attend so he took an online course and passed and was now the proud honor of a Bachelor's degree, but with the arm he had, he would probably never get to use it to its full extent. The older players on the team, coaches, manager and owner were also up there on the intelligence scale. It attributed to the success of the team.

Sasuke donned the dark blue suit with a white dress shirt underneath and black shoes. He tried to not look himself in the mirror. His feet felt uncomfortable and his shoulders felt especially tense with the excess amount of clothing. He lifted his cell phone from his its position by his bedroom door and looked at it in the light. There was just a light scratch near the top part of the phone that wouldn't have any long term effects so he pocketed it. He also pocketed his wallet, his house keys and his car keys before exiting his penthouse with a glance to make sure everything was in its place.

Outside the hallway was quiet. He glanced at the wall clock near the elevator and saw that it was 9:45 on the dot. He mentally swore, chastising his habit of getting dressed without caring to look at the time. The elevator was too slow for his liking so he decided to take the stairs.

To anyone but him running down twenty five flights of stairs was hell. But Sasuke wasn't just anyone else. He was a ball player so his body was in top physical condition for him to perform his best. Being late wasn't new to him either. It was always said that famous people always arrived late but who else arrived late? Hmm? That's right, superheroes. It gave them their dramatic entrance. But, above everything else, Sasuke was still human, a fact that he frequently tried to forget. So around the eleventh floor he wheezed and stopped to wait for the damn fucking elevator while catching his breath. By the time the elevator opened at the main lobby, he was wide awake and his muscles were warmed up.

"Good morning Mr. Uchiha," said the woman, whose name he could never remember, who was always sitting behind the brown security desk which was connected to the floor. Sasuke figured her entire job consisted of just sitting there and making sure no one unfamiliar entered the building or no one who entered the _rich/beautiful _role. She always wore a light colored dress suit and her hair was in a tight bun that stretched her facial features upward. "Will you be needing your car?"

He nodded to her and threw her the keys, she caught them with ease. He had a habit of throwing things, especially at the people he wanted to keep his distance from. She opened a small, square door in the counter and dropped the keys inside. The chute connected the counter with the main office of the parking garage under the building, which was accessible by car as the entrance was right near the building.

No less than a minute later, a sparkling black Jaguar pulled up in front of the building and could be seen through the two glass doors. Sasuke thanked the woman with a grunt and walked outside where the boyish looking valet handed him the keys. The Jag had been a present from the sports drink Liquid Power. He had done an ad campaign for the them with Kiba and Naruto was year before. They had a pick of three cars and while Naruto and the other player had chosen flashy, star-studded cars Sasuke had chosen the simple yet luxurious midnight colored Jaguar XKR Portfolio Convertible. Sasuke almost always had the top down, unless it was a rainy day.

"Here ya go chief," the valet waved to him when he slipped into the car and put his hands on the wheel.

"Thanks Udon," he buckled his seat belt and reached into his pocket for something, "Be good."

He handed the boy a twenty dollar bill which he took with a huge smile on his face, "Hey thanks chief, have a good day." Sasuke put the car in drive and pulled away from the sidewalk, taking to the streets with an anxious feeling in his chest. He was already late and speeding during late rush hour was not a good idea. With one hand on the wheel, he switched on the radio and put the volume up a little.

_"Good morniiiiiiing Konoha! This is Phoenix Radio giving you all the stats, plays and info on our favorite baseball team, the Konoha Phoenixs!" _

A pre-recorded applause sounded over the speakers. The station, KNYP 102.4, was a must for all the current information on the tea. For every affiliate and player, it was mandatory to tune into the station from time to time.

_"Last week the game they played against those Greenbacks was AWESOME! Fan favorites, Sasuke Uchiha, Neji Hyuuga, and Kiba Inuzuka all scored home runs that brought the team to victory once more! The Greenbacks didn't even know what him them!" _

Sasuke sighed and shook his head, somehow the more he heard about a victory, the less significant it became. At least to him.

_"The game next week is against the Kiri Swordsmen. The Swordsmen boost a, kinda impressive, array of superstar players. Their current number one go to guy is Number 47 Zabuza Momochi. Now...this guy is legendary. Phoenix pitcher Kakashi Hatake and Zabuza used to be on the same team in the minors and they were an outstanding combination. Zabuza works well with Number 5 Suigetsu Hozuki and Number 53 Kisame Hoshigaki. All these men together make on the best offensive teams but the game against the Phoenixs will also be their last game together." _

_Hmm? _Sasuke mentally willed the radio personality to talk faster. He was immediately intrigued.

_"Suigetsu was given a multi-million dollar contract offer from the Oto Cobras and sources say that he will take it. Kisame, notorious for his crazy Hail Mary hits, is being shipped to the newly forming Akatsuki Suns which will play their first game as a team in a few months to a year. The Suns already have Pein from the Ame Rainstorm, Zetsu from the Lazors and now superhero Kisame." _

_"Damn yo," _another voice came on, this one urban and 'hip', _"Sounds like this team is gonna give the Phoenixs a run for their money." _

_"Who's side are you on anyway? Have you _seen _the Phoenix line up? Number one in the league right now, who is a three time winner of the Most Valuable Player award, Sasuke Uchiha. Number two in the league Neji Hyuuga. MVP from last year Naruto Uzumaki and recipient of the Golden Bat Kiba Inuzuka for his astounding 73 homeruns last season. Do you have any idea who much this team is worth? Do you have any idea how--" _

The radio was cut short as Sasuke cut the engine and took the key from the ignition. He had finally made it to the Hokage Building. He got out of the car and walked fast through the double engraved glass door. Sasuke speed walked and dodged the many people in the Building and finally made it to the gold elevator. The elevator man from the other day stopped to say some encouraging words to him but he just told him the floor number and the man shut up. It was a long ride up, longer than he had remembered, and when the doors opened, two men in black were waiting for him. They were the same from the other day; the guy with the toothpick in his mouth and the man with a harsh scar across his face.

"Good morning Mr. Uchiha," the one with the scar said bowing to him. "Right this way," the tooth pick man said, pointing at the closed double doors at the end of the hall. Sasuke nodded and, without a word, walked toward the dark shadows of the hallway doors. He grabbed one handle in each hand and pushed forward, breathing in deeply before looking around the room. Jiraiya, Tsunade, Ebisu and Elder Sarutobi were there along with the Prim-and-Proper business man. Including Rye, the man who mentioned his brother, who Sasuke had an unmistakable urge to smother.

"Sasuke," Elder Sarutobi said with a small frown, "You are late, although I am not surprised." Sasuke expected the man to say something about ball players and their timing but was met with Elder Sarutobi's silence. The player looked around and spotted the girl that had been in the locker room the other day. The one with freakishly pink hair who he threw the ball at. _What is she doing here? _"Your wife was waiting patiently."

Wait...

Wait...

_His_ wife?

He looked around the room once more. Jiraiya, Tsunade, Ebisu, Elder Sarutobi, Rye, Mr. Prim-and-Proper...so...his wife was... He looked up at her and couldn't stop his mouth from dropping opening bit.

His wife was...the girl...pink hair...she had cried...his...wife...

"Are you _fucking_ with me, old man?" he looked at Elder Sarutobi with narrowed eyes. They _had _to be fucking with him.

The elder looked calmly back at him, "Watch your language."

"I will not _watch my language_," Sasuke mocked darkly, he gestured to the girl that was starting to cower in between Tsunade and Jiraiya, "_That's _my wife?!" He wasn't angry because she was less than beautiful. He wasn't angry because she was too thin and seemed sickly because her skin was too pale. He was angry because it was obvious that she was a wimp and, without looking at her twice, he could tell she was a door mat. And nothing pissed him off more than when people let themselves get taken advantage of because they were too weak. It also annoyed the fuck out of him.

"She will be good for your image," Rye crossed the room to haul her out from her hiding place and display her in front of Sasuke. From the corner of Sasuke's eyes he could see Tsunade glare at the man and Jiraiya put his hand on her arm as to hold her back. "She hails from a country in between Suna State and Konoha State, mostly...umm...less than rich people live there, no offense." The girl's eyes were downcast and the unflattering red dress she wore made her thin figure more apparent. "She has a wholesome image, very motherly values." He frowned.

_Did he just say motherly? Did they expect him to have kids with her? What the fuck? _

That was not part of the plan. "She will draw in a lot of magazine and television interviews, ad campaigns for more family oriented items and your fans will love you even more." Rye smiled, "Everyone loves a family man."

Sasuke glared at him, the plan seemed a lot more beneficial for him the first night he had heard it, not it was just a poorly planned publicity stunt. Rye grabbed the girl by her upper arms and presented her to him. Sasuke looked down at her and she let out a soft whimper at being so close to him.

"Umm," she muttered softly, "Please take care of me."

Oh.

For.

The.

Love.

Of.

_God._

"I need some air," the player said after a moment. He turned to walk out the door when he was stopped by the tooth pick man in black. He shifted his eyes to stare at the other man and spoke through clenched teeth, "Move your fucking arm before I rip it from your body."

"No, Mr. Uchiha," the man in black was obviously trying to rein in his temper, "You need to stay and listen."

"Move...your...arm."

"Genma," Elder Sarutobi called, sighing, "It's fine, let him go. We'll be in touch Sasuke, call Jiraiya when you're calm enough to function like a proper human being."

Sasuke almost punched 'Genma' as he made his way out of the double doors and to the elevator. As he entered it and leaned against the farthest wall away from the elevator doors, he began to think. Money. He was doing everything for money but he wasn't a sell out. He would never be a _fucking _sell out. Itachi needed that money. His family needed that money.

Earning millions of dollars a year didn't mean shit when the doctors he hired for his brother kept wanting more and more money for their services. It also didn't help that he was paying most of them to _cure _his brother's paralysis, which was not impossible, but the severity of Itachi's situation complicated everything.

And the whole wife thing would appeal to his fans but he couldn't help feel that, yet again, he was getting the short end of the straw. The girl, although harmless, got a husband worth millions and almost everything that he owned (which wasn't much but it was worth a lot) He got a wife he didn't want with an attitude that annoyed him and the millions of dollars that he didn't even want to touch. The business men, especially Rye, wanted some of the money he would be making and he could do nothing about it.

But...a wife? A wife meant that he had someone to...look after. Him! The guy who never even had a house plant because it was too much of a responsibility! Now...he had a pet! Wife, pet, houseplant, whatever. _You watered it, you fed it, you kept the door closed (or the blinds open) so it didn't escape (or die). _He looked up when the shifting of the elevator man caught his eye.

"Mr. Uchiha?" the man asked. "Is something wrong?"

Sasuke shook his head, willing his eyes not to betray his angst. The players were given a code they had to follow when alone in the public. They were representing the team, the franchise and everything that the glorious team stood for so they had to act their best. They could not show any negative emotions, like anger, sadness or anxiety, to the public because it promoted _'a negative air'_ about the team and _'players should be viewed as strong, honorable, calm individuals with easy demeanors.' _

"Are you sure?" the elevator man persisted, looking at him curiously, "You look mighty steamed at something or someone."

"I'm fine," Sasuke said in a calm voice, crossing his arms over his chest with a sigh. It was a long, quiet ride down the Hokage Building.

"I look forward to your game next week," the elevator man said when the doors opened at the lobby, "I'll be rooting for you!" Of course he would be. There wasn't a single baseball fan in the entire city, and even other foreign cities, that didn't consider Sasuke Uchiha to be their hero. He was a man's man with a manly attitude and he played like a man out on the field. He never got angry or fought with any of the umpires, he never argued with a member from the opposing team and he was always cooperative when faced with a player from his own team. Sasuke nodded to the man once before swiftly walking out the building and jumping into his Jaguar and headed for the Stadium. There was a work out center near the team locker room and he hoped that he would work himself too tired to stay angry at the world. It would not do him good to play with a clouded mind.


	5. Soot

**Disclaimer: **Naruto and Co. are owned by Masashi Kishimoto. No copyright infringement intended.

**Author's Note**: Meh. Sorry for the delay. Enjoy.

* * *

**Shatter With the Rain**

_Chapter Five__**: **Soot _

* * *

Five hours later, Sasuke was jogging around the baseball field in the Stadium, breathless. He had done every exercise he could remember since his minor league days, including lifting weights for a considerable amount of time, and was sweating harder than he had in months. Although his entire muscular system felt warm and alive with flowing oxygen, he knew that his body would be aching the next day. Still, he pushed himself.

_Run harder, pump arms faster, faster, harder, faster, stronger... _

It was a bad habit that only he and another player on the team suffered from: over practice. Since Sasuke and the other man weren't too keen on the whole _sharing feelings _like a bunch of pussies thing, they worked their asses off whenever the felt a strong, distracting emotion. But unlike the other player, Neji, Sasuke worked himself to extremes. Sasuke strived for complete and utter perfection when it came to his baseball skills. He didn't want to be _good_. He didn't want to be _better_ than his teammates. He wanted to be the best player in the entire league, in the entire world. He wanted to be almost godly in his stats and figures. He wanted to be so good that any starting player that took a look at the back of his UCHIHA, SASUKE collectible trading card was blown away and completely intimidated by what he saw.

Neji Hyuuga was a by-the-book kind of player. The type of player that read the handbook thirty-two billion times and knew that Chapter Nine: Article Three: Section Five: Part B of the Interstate Major Baseball League prohibited exercise regiments that last for more than four hours at a time. To Sasuke, the handbook was just like every other manual. Nobody really _read_ manuals, they skimmed through it a couple of times to make sure they got the basics right, but mostly a person flung the manual somewhere and discovered how to do things as time went on.

In Sasuke's mind, the Major League handbook was a book of suggestions, not laws. It was _suggested _that the player spend no more than four hours at a time working out his body. It was _suggested _that players always train in the company of players to keep themselves in check. Just _suggestions _that he had no care for.

The Uchiha raced around the bases for the nth time and started to slow down around third base. He mentally cursed his traitorous legs. His body had long ago worked off the quick breakfast he had had earlier and the extra practice was murder on his empty stomach. His practice clothes, consisting of a sleeveless white t-shirt and black shorts, were soaked through with his own sweat and the heat that was burning in his chest was unfathomable. He knew he was close to ending his practice but he didn't want to stop right then.

Sasuke managed to walk around the bases again one more time until he collapsed onto his knees between second and third, panting harshly and feeling unbearably nauseated. He coughed, an action that squeezed his chest for one heart stopping second, before spitting onto the ground like a true ballplayer. He fell forward, throwing his hands in front of him to keep his face from banging against the ground. Sasuke's body soon rebelled against him and he flipped onto his back, his eyes blinking rapidly in a last effort to keep him conscious. Above the sound of his own ragged panting and heavy heart beating, he heard another noise. A noise that made him control his breathing for a second to listen better.

Footsteps. Someone was running down the stairs, clumsily, and tripped before catching themselves when they hit the field. _It can't be a player_, he thought, _unless the player is drunk. Even if he is, it's no excuse to interrupt me_. Feeling annoyed beyond belief, he closed his eyes and tried to mentally will the person to go away. He felt his forehead being touched by something cool and moist and the same thing was thrust into his right hand. It felt like a bottle. Sasuke opened his eyes a little and, although the sun was making his vision blurry, he could dimly make out the person's hair color, which partly blocked Sasuke's face.

_Pink. _Now, there weren't many people Sasuke knew with such a distinctive hair color...so it would only be one person, the only person he dreaded.

The girl, his fiancée was kneeling by his side. She was _there_, invading what Naruto liked to call his _happy place_. Fuck.

"What are...," _cough, wheeze,_ "You doing here?" He pulled himself up, as if he had just done a curl up, and looked at her as she tried to form words.

"Ummm…your manager told me you...might be here," she reached over to uncap the bottle for him, which was burning a hole in his hot hand, "And that you might overwork yourself." She wasn't _wrong _per se but out of all the people Jiraiya could have sent, he chose to send _her _to check up on him? Sasuke didn't like that.

He took a small, measured sip from the water bottle before turning his head to the right, away from the girl, and spitting it out. Creating another classic_ baseball-players-always-spit _moment. He turned his head back only to notice her startled gaze and glanced down at the bottle in his hand, "I don't like to drink too much after working out." He didn't really have to explain it to her but it was obvious she was unnerved by his spitting.

"But...," she frowned, glancing from him to the bottle, "Aren't you thirsty? It can't be healthy to not drink when you're thirsty."

He shrugged as an answer to her question, not that it mattered anyway. She probably didn't know that to drink an entire bottle of cold water when the body was _extremely _hot was a dangerous thing to do.

He looked up and it was only then that he noticed her attire. Her shirt was loose fitting and white, too normal looking for his taste, and her jeans were light and fit her body oddly, as if they were made for a person twice her size. She had two brown spots on her knees, spots Sasuke was familiar with as he and his team mates frequently got them when they slid into the closest base, and her sneakers were worn. Her long pink hair, colored bubble gum pink and looked oddly soft, fell past her shoulders in smooth waves. Even to his slightly dazed mind, it was hard to believe he was going to be associated with someone like _her_. He was sure that if he looked up the words _country bumpkin _in the encyclopedia, he would find her picture under it.

"How long have you been here?" he asked, finally coming back to his senses. He rose to his feet on slightly shaky legs and swallowed a couple of times to keep from being sick all over the field.

She looked up at him slowly and said in her soft voice, "About three hours after you left the Tower. I...was sitting in the press box." So she had sat alone, in the press box, for two hours? Did she lack common sense?

"Go home, I still need to practice more." That was a lie. He had a habit of overworking himself, but he wasn't stupid and, frankly, he would be surprised if he could make it to the dug out without falling again. He just wanted her to leave him alone.

"But...you're tired and you look like you're about to faint. You're so pale, sit down somewhere for a while."

He looked down at her and almost smirked, "I am always this color." She flinched slightly at his tone, "Go home, I don't want you here." The harsh sunlight bounced off of her eyes, making them glow brightly, and he could see them start to water as he looked away. _Great..._

"But I just want to help you."

"Well I don't need your help so just leave me alone." Did she not understand the concept of walking away when she was not needed? She flinched again, lowering her head a minute later. Her obvious sadness aroused a thought in his head.

It had been so long since he had seen a woman cry. His mother was a strong woman and almost _never _showed sadness. Tenten would rather make _men _cry and women were terrified of her. His ex was a man as far as he was concerned and any other family member that he had, he didn't really care for. So seeing the woman that would become his wife, not by choice though, cry had an odd affect on him. Now Sasuke was not the type of man to melt when he saw a woman's tears nor was he the type to laugh it off and make her cry even more. His persona was that of an anti-hero, not exactly a Casanova in his own right but not a diabolical super villain either. So he was stuck between the two extremes and he really wasn't sure what to do.

"Don't...cry." He wasn't sure he had ever spoken those words before in his life. He was not the comforting type of guy. He wasn't Naruto, with a cuddly personality and a one-hundred thousand, if that was possible, watt smile. He wasn't Kiba, with a smirking innuendo-filled attitude and the personality of a trusted German Shepard. He wasn't even Neji, who could probably comfort a girl if he melted a little...alright melted _a lot. _"I don't like company when I'm training," _especially feminine company, with tears and big green eyes, _"And you should go home." _Wherever that was._ He tried to make it sound like a suggestion, not a command like he wanted it to sound like. He stretched quickly and then started to jog toward home plate, half clenching his teeth to stop the pounding in his skull, when her voice, audible only because of the emptiness of the Stadium, stopped him.

"Are...are you stilling going to agree to...m-marry me? Because...I...need the money..."

_What? _Sasuke turned to fully look at her, experiencing vertigo for a second. He really did need to tone it down a bit when he practiced. "What do you need it for?"

"My family isn't doing too well," she took a step closer to him but he still had to strain to her voice, "When Mr. Sarutobi told me...about you I agreed because of the money the guys promised I would get." She paused for a second, swallowing nosily. "Was it a lie? Am I not going to get anything out of this?"

_Besides shackling down the wealthiest baseball player and most eligible bachelor? Not much. _"No, there's going to be money, but you won't get all of it."

Her jaw dropped half way, "But you're a millionaire," her eyes watered again, "You don't need it..."

"Don't talk about things that you know nothing of," he growled, "I have accepted our situation," _just barely_, "But there will be some conditions."

"Such as?"

"Don't touch me. I can go out whenever I want. The moment you begin to nag, this is over. I have my life, you have yours, stay out of mine and I won't bother you in yours." He sounded like such a hard ass, even to his own ears, but he knew it was for the best, even if the girl looked horrified.

"But then, what kind of marriage is this?"

"A publicity stunt to draw in endorsements. Behind closed doors, we don't, probably won't, like each other but in front of a camera and a public we're 'in love'. I don't know you and you don't know me so let us just agree to this for the money and be done with it." Her face faltered for a moment but when her eyes looked back at him, they were dry and dull, like a rusting metal.

"So, my life is over?"

"Nobody is forcing you to do this. We both need money and its an easy fix. People do this all the time. Just act normal."

"How long might this last?"

"As long as we still need money. The moment we're both well off, we're done."

She whispered her next sentence, eyes looking down, "You say it like it is just a game..."

"It is just a game, a lying game where we fool everyone and the winning prize is millions of dollars." Now that he thought about it, it really was a game. He wasn't sure if he could handle lying to his fans but he would most certainly have to try, a lot of things were riding on this particular game.

"When it's over," he continued, "We walk away with what we want, agreed?" The girl walked forward with a soft frown on her face and stopped until she stood before him, she was eye level to his Adam's apple.

"Agreed," she glanced up at him and then back around to the Stadium, squinting against the hot flash of the sun. Sasuke looked in the direction she was angled to and saw that she was staring at the scoreboard, which was turned off. It was impressive looking up close, but not worth frying in the heat for.

"Whatever," he led her off the field by the arm, stumbling only once, into the cool hallway that led to the locker rooms, gym and lobby. He made her wait there while he briskly walked back to get his cell phone and change of clothes from the dug out. He was a hairsbreadth away from picking up his phone when it sprang to life with an ominous sounding ring tone that he knew too well. _Jiraiya. _

_"About time, Superstar, is the girl there?"_

"You know I like to be alone when I train."

The man on the other line scoffed, _"Please, I was just making sure you didn't kill yourself like __**every other time**__ when you've trained alone. You keeping pushing yourself and that can't be good for your heart Sasuke. Tsunade has told you on numerous occasions that--"_

"Tsunade is not a nurse!"

_"She has a degree in nursing dammit! It's not my fault that she chose to be a coach instead! Besides, her niece Shizune has told you the same thing but do you listen? __**No!**__ Mr. Superstar Millionaire is too hard headed to listen to someone who is trying to save his __**life!**__"_

"Is there a point to this phone call?" Sasuke said in a measured tone, as to not aggravate the manager further. Jiraiya was dangerous when he was angry.

_"Have you accepted the marriage yet?"_

Sasuke sighed, "Yes but only because it will be beneficial for the both of us."

_"YES!" _screamed Jiraiya, laughing loudly, _"Spoken like a true gentleman! How soon do you want the wedding?" _

"Soon, make it quick and painless."

_"That soon eh? Well..." _he mumbled, thinking aloud, _"Your wife-to-be's staying in a hotel for this week, you can get your marriage license from City Hall tomorrow and you can get married officially on Friday."_

_Friday? _"Why so late?"

_"You gotta give it some time, superstar. It'll be weird if you get engaged and married in only two days, even if that's what you want to do. Give the media a week to lap this up. It's Sunday today so by tomorrow afternoon, everyone's gonna know you're engaged." _

Another sigh, this one heavier than the last, "Is this really necessary?"

_"Yes it is, very necessary, prepare yourself for the paparazzi, they're gonna swarm you like mad." _

_Oh __**great**__. _

Unfortunately, Jiraiya was not lying. By the time Sasuke awoke the next morning and turned on the news, the entire media knew. He found this fact while idly watching the local news, since there was no practice that Monday and he was feeling extremely lazy, when the Entertainment Correspondent mentioned his name out of the blue. She was a pretty thing, in a generic blonde sort of way. Elegantly dressed in a maroon colored dress suit, the moment his name was out of her mouth he knew he was in for some trouble.

"Now this is the news everyone is talking about this morning," she said, looking straight into the camera, "It has been confirmed that Sasuke Uchiha, outfielder for the Konoha Phoenixs, is engaged to a working class girl from Water Front Port,"  Really? Water Front Port? The place was not familiar to Sasuke and that could only mean that this Water Front Port place did not have a baseball team which was odd considering even the smallest places had one nowadays. "The manager of the Phoenixs has released a statement concerning this matter." The screen switched to a small, square picture of Jiraiya, winking of course, and moving font, white against the blue screen, as the correspondent read it aloud. _"'We are very pleased to announce that Sasuke Uchiha is engaged and soon to be married. We support him in this and make plans for the wedding, which will be very soon. We wish to keep this matter private and this should not be a big deal.'"_ The correspondent turned to the normal newscasters, who were obviously shocked by the news, "Well obviously it's going to be big news considering how gorgeous and unattainable Sasuke Uchiha is, not to mention the fact that he has one of the best averages the Interstate League has ever seen. I wish Sasuke the best of luck in this."

He didn't pay attention to the rest of the news because half way through the weather report, _a sunny day--__**perfect for baseball**__,_ his phone disrupted his silence. He didn't feel like talking. The phone continued to ring on and off for about half an hour before he got tired of it and just switched it off. He had glanced at it as he was turning it off and _twenty three missed calls_ were not appealing to him. Of course, no one could stop a couple of millionaire baseball players from getting touch with their acquaintance so if they wanted to speak with him, they would find ways.

Around noon, his doorbell rang and the sound was quickly followed by pounding on his door.

"Sasuke!" he heard a voice yell when he didn't immediately respond and he inwardly groaned. This was all he needed. "Get your chicken-feathered haired ass to this door and open up! What is this we hear about you being _engaged?_" Ignoring the insult about his hair, which he happened to like thank you very much, Sasuke stood up. He swore in every language he could think of, which were not many but it made him feel slightly better, and started toward the door. The pounding continued until he opened it and glared at the men standing on the other side. Kiba and Naruto didn't look as upset as they had sounded before but the looks on their faces were of pure annoyance.

"You're _engaged?_" the shortstop spat out, his fang like canines glinting in the half light of Sasuke's penthouse.

"Yes," he said simply, his face blank," And I would appreciate if you two shut the fuck up before the neighbors find out."

"How else do you expect us to react?!" Naruto questioned, throwing his hands up in the air, "We didn't even know you were dating anyone and now, suddenly, out of nowhere, you're engaged to some chic apparently Jiraiya knew about but the rest of us didn't?!"

"You don't have to know everything that I do an--"

"Cut the bullshit!" Kiba said angrily, glaring at him, "What's really going on? You're not seriously getting married are you?"

"And what if I am?" Sasuke's face was still blank but his eyes were quickly gaining fire.

"If you are then...," Kiba stopped for a second, his eyes falling to the waxed floor of the hall, "Then..." He glanced at Naruto, the blonde was getting a small smile on his face.

"Then we're happy for you," Naruto finished for him, flashing Sasuke a bigger smile, "You deserve happiness."

Ugh.

Sap.

Sap.

Sap.

That was one of the reasons why Sasuke didn't want them to find out. They were likely the ones to go all corny on him and start spouting Hallmark Love quotes every minute in his presence. As if he didn't already get that from his mother every time he called. Sheesh.

"So...", Naruto shifted his weight from foot to foot, "Can we come in?"

"Whatever," Sasuke sighed and opened the door wider so that the two players could enter his sanctuary. They stayed, trying to talk information out of him about his wife for about an hour before he kicked them out, their laughter echoing widely in the quiet halls of the White Building.

"Make sure to have pretty babies, superstar!" laughter, laughter, snort. Kiba's laugh was so obnoxious, Sasuke wanted to punch him just so he would shut up.

"Name one of them after me alright?" laughter, laughter, _more fucking _laughter. Sasuke slammed the door angrily behind them, _as if I'd ever name a child after Naruto_, and walked back to his lovely couch, on which he impersonated a vegetable for the next few hours. It was the first day in months that he didn't leave his home.

He awoke the following day around ten o'clock to find that he was not alone in his home. Now, at any other time of day, Sasuke was a mean motherfucker but he was especially a mean motherfucker on his days off and more so when he finds a pink haired girl standing in the middle of his kitchen, looking lost. He was too confused and too angry to voice his thoughts so quickly after having woken up so he just settled for glaring silently at her.

She was dressed in loose fitting blue jeans and a normal looking orange t-shirt and looking around the kitchen with rapt interest. When he didn't notice him, he cleared his throat and she jumped, and squeaked, before turning in his direction. She took in his white wife beater and blue boxer shorts with a flush and stammered a "good morning", her face matching her hair.

He stood there, freshly awoken with narrowed eyes, and said slowly, "What the _hell _are you doing here?" He didn't normally have women pop up unannounced at his apartment, not anymore anyway, and he didn't like it that the one woman who had suddenly turned up was one he didn't want to have sexual relations with.

She took a moment to answer him, tearing her eyes away from his state of undress and sputtered, "Y-Your manager said t-that we were to be ma-married by law today, r-remember?"

He hadn't forgotten exactly but it wasn't as if he had been counting down the hours either. Still... "How did you get in _here_?" She most certainly did not have a key, there was no way...

"Jiraiya, I mean, your manager let me in. He has a key."

Of course. Jiraiya, the Magnificent-Master-Of-Ruining-Lives, _would_ have a key to his apartment. However he got it, Sasuke would probably never know so he just settled for giving the girl a once over and turning around.

"I'll be ready in a few minutes, sit somewhere and don't touch anything." The minute he said it, his genius brain caught the irony in his words: how can she sit somewhere and not touch anything at the same time? He looked over his shoulder to see if she got it but saw that she was already sitting on his couch, the one facing the window, looking as if she was restraining herself from even breathing.

Sasuke got out of his shower a few minutes later, a towel wrapped around his waist, and walked to his closet. He wasn't a man overly concerned with fashion, he hardly wore regular clothing since he trained so much. In essence, he probably spent more money on sweats and shorts than on jeans and t-shirts. Still, he always did like to look his best. As he stood in front of his closet, not knowing what to wear, he asked himself one question: _what does a man wear when legally marrying a woman he doesn't know and doesn't care for?_ Sweats would just be upsetting, slacks would show that he cared too much and jeans..., he could wear jeans. So in the end he settled for loose jeans and a black t-shirt that hung rather nicely off of his muscular frame. He pocketed his keys and square cell phone and made his way back to the living room where the girl was sitting.

She looked up when he talked into view and lowered her eyes to the floor, a soft blush staining her cheeks. He wasn't used to the reaction, since he rarely hung around women who were bashful in his presence, so he just rolled his eyes.

"Let's go," he told her, watching her stand and make her way over to him. They walked out of his apartment and down the elevator together in silence. The only sound either of them made was when the girl got too close to him in the elevator and muttered a shy "sorry" before moving away. Sasuke had settled for just sighing almost silently and looking away from her. When they reached the lobby, he threw the keys to the counter lady who caught them and then motioned him over to her. He told the girl to wait for him by the entrance and trudged over to the lady, frowning.

"Mr. Uchiha," she said, following the girl with her beady eyes, "If she is bothering you, I can call security if you wish. I have never seen her here before."

Sasuke looked at her with bored eyes before saying, "Just get my damn car." Counter-lady really did need to get a life.

"Fine, Mr. Uchiha, if that is what you wish." She dropped his keys into the little chute and a few minutes later, he saw his Jaguar pull up to the White Building. He and the girl exited the Building and Sasuke frowned at who stepped out of the passenger seat. He was a young man, about twenty one years old at most, with a slightly burly frame and dark brown hair that stood up in every direction. He blue scarf was around his neck and he looked up at Sasuke with a smug smile on his face.

"Hiya Superstar!" It was the owner's grandson, Asuma's nephew, a kid who was really too rich to work like a normal human being.

"Konohamaru," Sasuke's frown was more pronounced, "Where is Udon?" Konohamaru shut the car door with flourish and lazily leaned against it, casually throwing Sasuke back his keys. What a little runt.

"Udon's visitin' his mom in the hospital, I'm takin' over for today."

"Great," the other man said, his voice heavy with sarcasm, "It's about time you work for a living."

"Hahaha," Konohamaru said without emotion, casting a glance to the girl at Sasuke's side, "Nice hair, was your mom part cotton candy monster?" The girl flushed, lowering her eyes, and the sight was pathetic enough to make Sasuke grab Konohamaru by his ugly scarf and pull him roughly off his car. The younger man stumbled on the sidewalk and swore loudly, regaining his balance.

"Never lean on my car twerp," Sasuke told him, motioning for the girl to get into the car. He heard Konohamaru swear again and turned just in time to see him flush and stomp his foot angrily.

"You're gonna regret this one day when I own the Phoenixs!"

"Doubt it," Sasuke got into his car and shut the door, glaring back at the boy, "Tell Udon that only he can drive my car."

"Fuck you Sasuke!" He heard as he drove away from the curb, ignoring the idiotic youth.

Yes, it was going to be a _wonderful _day.


End file.
